The Knights of Arrethtrae: Sir Marcus the Dragonheart
by John Storm
Summary: Just as things are going well for Chessington a warrior named Marcus arrives stating the King sent him to find his purpose. After Marcus helps protect the city from bandits a woman Marcus' past arrives saying she needs his, Leinad, and Tess' help to save her people from a powerful Shadow Warrior. From the Kingdom Series and The Knights of Arrethrae series by Chuck Black
1. Trouble in the Market

Well, here we go, my new story, The Kingdom Series: Marcus the Dragonheart. I've had this idea for a while but only now got the desire to write it out.

The Kingdom Series is one of my favorite series of all time. I read them when they first came out and loved them. I have yet to find a better Christian fiction series. Recently, I read them again and was inspired to write this story.

BTW, the I just now got to reading The Knights of Arreththrae series. I'm nearly through reading the series, and I've loved every bit of them. So, don't hate me for that, I'll get through the last two soon enough

Unfortunately, the Kingdom Series is a relatively unknown series. I haven't found a category of it on the sight, so unfortunately, I must list it under Miscellaneous Books. Because not a lot of people know about the series I'll try to include as much information for the series as I can.

I decided that this story should take place between the second and third books (Kingdom's Hope and Kingdom's Edge) because Leinad and Tess are my favorite characters in the series. I also wanted to develop on their married life, we didn't see much of it in the books. So, my main character will be interacting with them.

Originally, I was going to do a prologue chapter like what Chuck Black does in both series. I finished it, but I just can't do a prologue like he can, long story short, it was terrible. This was originally going to be the second chapter, now it's the first one.

I do not own "The Knights of Arreththrae" series or "The Kingdom Series," all rights belong to Chuck black.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

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Chapter 1 A Stranger to Chessington

"Where are you going Tess?"

Tess turns around to face Leinad. "I'm heading into the market, we need some supplies."

"Really, are you sure you're not going to the market just to visit with the people." Leinad teases.

Tess giggles, Leinad knows her too well. She's a people person and the people of Chessington love their Lady Tess. Tess is more worried about getting loved to death by the people than the blade of bandits that constantly try to raid Chessington. Thankfully, ever since the Noble Knights have been established, bandits have been all but absent from Chessington.

"You know me too well. I just enjoy being around the people and the children." Tess says as she walks close to Leinad. "Besides I can take care of myself better than anyone else in Chessington."

"It's because you're more committed than any man I've ever trained. And the most beautiful woman in all of Chessington."

"And you did a excellent job at that, so you've earned this." Tess kisses Leinad on the lips gently before turning and walking to the door. "I'll be back late today."

Tess doesn't say another word to a smiling Leinad as she walks out of their home and into the heart of Chessington. She doesn't like giving Leinad too much time to think about certain things. Besides, she's trying to teach Leinad to not be so overprotective, which is a hard lesson for him to learn. Despite being the second best sword fighter in Chessington, second only to Leinad, and a battle hardened warrior, Leinad can still be overprotective of her.

It doesn't take Tess long to walk to the market, but she takes her time, wanting to take in the sights of a rebuilding Chessington. In the year since Zane attacked Chessington was quickly rebuilt and expanded. The people in the city are very committed when they want to be, though at times they're motivation can be on the wrong idea. At first, the people wanted to rebuild the city to the glory of Quinn's days. Leinad, Tess, and Audric managed to talk them out of it, doing such a thing would lead them down the same path with the same result. But, thanks to the people's dedication the city of Chessington was rebuilt in about year and is still expanding, as the population grows.

What brightens Tess' heart is that as the city has grown so has their faith and conviction to the King. After everything the people have gone through many left to go back to their homelands or to get away from Chessington and Leinad, believing only bad things happen around them. As a result, the remaining people are mostly those who want to serve the King and learn more about him. Leinad had no trouble instructing the citizens and Noble Knights in the ways of the Code. It was as if the peoples' hearts needed the King's words and the Code to survive, and it brought a smile to Tess' face to see it. The people of Chessington were happy and so was Tess and Leinad, happier than they've ever been.

Tess enjoys heading down to the market, interacting with the people of Chessington. Over the years Tess has gotten to know them very well, seeing many of them as her friends. Many of the people see Tess as her hero and treat her different than most people, something Tess doesn't like but puts up with, occasionally. During his visits to the market Tess takes the opportunity to learn from the people and ask how they're lives can be improved. The people appreciate the visits as Tess is good at assisting them when they need the help. Tess can hardly make it through a visit to the market without the children of the market playing with her, the children love her, and she enjoys playing with them.

Looking at the children playing the market place, Tess can't help but wonder what it would be like to have a child. It's been a dream of Tess' to have a child with Leinad someday, to play with and raise to love the King and the Code. But after finding that she has problems getting pregnant, her and Leinad's dreams were shattered. It hasn't stopped him from living their lives to the fullest for the King or dreaming that they may someday have a child.

Out of the corner of her eye Tess notices an old friend working his stand in the market. Tess nearly runs to him, having not seen him in weeks.

"Good morning Victor." Tess shouts at the tall, dark skinned man working on sewing a blanket.

"Good morning Tess, how are you doing on this lovely day?" The shop owner calls to Tess.

"I'm doing fine Victor, I had to come to the market on a day like this."

"I'm glad you did, I rarely get someone as beautiful as you come by my story."

Tess blushes a little, she's used to be called beautiful but not that often by a middle-aged man who's doing it to as a compliment. She can at least humor the old man a little bit. Victor did make her the dress for her wedding day, and he did such a good job that she invited him to the wedding. The dress certainly did its job as Leinad was stunned on the altar when she started walking up the aisle. Tess thought that Leinad was going to pass out from seeing her beauty and saying, "I do."

"So how is the wound Tess?" Victor asks as Tess observes the display clothes on the counter.

Tess wenches at the memory of Zane's blade piercing her back. "It still hurts from time to time, the life spice saved my life and helped dual the pain. I still get a spasm of pain in my back every now and then but it's nothing to be worried about."

"Good, I'd hate for my favorite customer to be in pain."

"Aw, thanks Victor, this is one reason why I keep coming here."

"Oh, and what's the other?"

Tess smiles. "You're the best seamstress in Chessington."

"Decades of experience Lady Tess. I was a seamstress a decade before Lord Fairos enslaved my people. I owe you and Leinad so much after everything you did."

"You don't owe me anything Victor, it wouldn't feel right to take anything from you. As far as I'm concerned we were even when you made me the wedding dress."

Victor smiles. "The look on Leinad's face was enough for me."

Tess suddenly notices a look for fear in Victor's eyes. She's never seen the big man scared of anything before, so whatever it is must be intimidating.

"Excuse me ma'am, is this Chessington, I've never been to this part of Arreththrae before?" A big, booming voice echoes behind Tess.

Tess turns to see who the voice belonged to and freezes at the sight of the mountain of a man standing before her. The man is easily six feet and a half feet tall and bulging with muscles. His hair is blood red and long, tied on a pony tail on his back, and his beard is nearly as long and the same color. The man is very handsome, with a strong jaw and blue eyes, Tess guesses he's in his mid-twenties, though she's not seeing any boyish features in him. His body is covered black cloak, so Tess can't see his clothing, but she does notice black, armored boots, which leads Tess to believe that he's wearing heavy armor. There's also an eye patch on his left eye but no scars around it, leaving Tess to believe someone scared his eye. What's most intimidating about this stranger is the long sword he's carrying. Strapped on the stranger's back is the longest, double - sided sword she's ever seen, around six feet long. The blade is over four feet in length with the handle nearly two feet long. Combined with this man's strength, one hit from this blade would kill anyone, even if they were wearing strong armor. The only men Tess has seen this big are Silent and Shadow Warriors, but looking at this man it's clear that he's not one.

Looking into the stranger's eyes is even more of a mystery for Tess. What catches Tess off guard is the contradiction she sees in the man's eyes. The man's eyes scream the strength she sees in his size but there's also compassion and gentleness, more so than she's seen in most people. Despite the man's threatening size and sword Tess sees a kindness that most people wouldn't see. Looking deeper into his eyes, Tess sees a longing to help and protect people, something she doesn't see enough of. The only people with eyes like this are those that have seen the King personally, like Leinad, after he met the King.

As Tess looks deeper into the stranger's eyes she spots something that disturbs her. Beneath his compassion and love Tess sees sadness, depression, regret, torture, and something broken inside him. Over the years Tess has seen it plenty of times, especially during her time as a slave under Fairos. Tess can see that something is hurting the man mentally, badly as well. She can't tell if it's regret or a past action or the loss of a loved one.

Tess nods slowly, unsure how to politely respond to the large stranger. "Yes, this is Chessington, welcome to our lovely city."

"It's definitely lovely, better than any city I've seen in this region of the kingdom so far. The King has certainly blessed you here."

"Yes, we certainly havr been blessed, and we serve the King proudly, and are always welcome to outsiders, such as yourself."

"Good, I've been received here better than anywhere else. Most places aren't open to wanderers. You don't have to worry about me starting any trouble . . . finishing trouble is a different matter entirely."

Tess takes a step back from the stranger. Her hand instinctually goes for her sword's hilt, but she doesn't draw it. The stranger doesn't move a muscle, apparently, it's not the first time he's gotten this reaction, he just stands there smiling at her. It takes a moment for Tess to realize that she overreacted to the man's obvious joke.

"I'm sorry, old habit I guess." Tess says as she takes her hand off her sword.

"It's fine ma'am, I'm used to it." The stranger replies then offers her a hand. "My name's Marcus."

Tess looks at Marcus's hand, seeing that it's covered in a white, armored gauntlet, with small spikes on the knuckles, making a punch from this man even more lethal than it already would be.

Tess takes Marcus's hand, immediately noticing the strength in his grip, even though he's holding back. "Hello Marcus, I'm Tess of Chessington."

Marcus smiles as he lets go of Tess' hand. "I've heard of you, the beautiful Lady Tess of Chessington who's skill is unmatched with a sword."

"I guess that's true, unless you count my husband." Tess blushes. "I'm just surprised that people outside of Chessington have heard of me."

"You'd be surprised, the servants of the King know all about you. Your husband is a very lucky man."

"You have no idea. I got to ask why are you here? You come to do business with us?"

Marcus shakes his head. "No, I'm here to speak to Audric, Leinad, and you."

Tess looks at Marcus a little confused. "Ok? You came out with that pretty quickly."

"I like to get straight to the point. I was told to speak to the three of you together."

"And who told you that?" Tess asks questionably.

"A Silent Warrior named Gabrik told me to come here and talk to you."

"Ok? . . . this is, strange to say the least. I know Gabrik personally, haven't seen him in a while though." Tess says shaking her head. "I just met you and yet you're telling me you're on a mission from the King."

Marcus shrugs his shoulders. "As I said, I get straight to the point."

Tess is about to respond when she feels a strong arm wrap around her neck and a knife placed against her throat. From behind her four cloaked men draw their swords and stand between her and Marcus. The man holding her presses the knife against Tess's throat to keep her from moving and breaking free. The four men, Tess believing they're bandits, slowly advanced towards Marcus who just stands there looking unimpressed.

The bandits surrounding them are wearing black leather armor with black cloaks. Tess has difficult seeing their faces as they're wearing hoods to conceal their identities. The swords they're carrying are curved with weighted tips, making them exceptional weapons for slice attacks. This swords type is common with bandits, it's quick attack make it a perfect fit for bandits, but these swords are slightly different, Tess has never see a sword like the ones these bandits are using. The leather armor also bears a dragon on the chest, leading Tess to believe that these men probably serve the Dark Knight, a Shadow Warrior, or Zane.

"Well, well, if it isn't Marcus the Dragonheart, caught off guard." The man holding the knife against Tess's throat growls. "The Dark Knight has plans for you."

"Plans that involves our swords in your gut." One of the bandits shouts.

The cynical smile on Marcus' face sends a shiver down Tess' spine. The bandit's words and mention of the Dark Knight didn't even faze him. Marcus barely moves as the bandits approach him, he doesn't even reach for his sword. Tess doesn't know if Marcus is just crazy or putting up a front to scare the bandits, if he is then it's working. Marcus' lack of reaction slows their approach to the point where none of them want to get too close.

"If you boys are trying to intimidate me you're doing it wrong." Marcus growls as he takes a step forward. "You can't threaten a man with death who serves the King. The only thing keeping me from destroying is your hostage, and you won't have her for long."

Before the bandits holding Tess realizes what Marcus mean Tess grabs his knife hand, using a technique Leinad taught her, and spins his arm, nearly throwing him to the ground. In an instant, Tess has the bandit in an arm bar and twists till he drops the knife. Once the bandit drops the knife Tess dislocates his arm, throws him to the ground and backs away drawing her sword. The other bandits turn around and advance towards Tess.

"Focus on me boys, I'm the one you want, not her." Marcus shouts getting the bandits' attention.

The bandits turn around to see Marcus stepping towards them, who hasn't drawn his sword yet. Marcus smiles menacingly at the bandits, making them back up, his gaze and size alone being enough to scare them. Tess doesn't know if he's trying to intimidate them or if he really is this tough.

"What are you morons standing there, he's just one man?" The bandit leader shouts.

The closest bandit rushes at Marcus, swinging his sword over his head before bringing it down on Marcus. In the blink of an eye Marcus reaches up with his left hand as the sword crashes down, aimed at his head, the weighted tip slamming against his arm. Instead of losing his arm the sword stops as Tess hears metal hitting against metal. Tess can see that the bandit's blade had hit the metal gauntlet on Marcus's hand, doing no damage to his armor. The bandits remain frozen, not expecting to see Marcus stop their sword's so easily.

"We're you expecting to cut my arm off or something?" Marcus says with a smirk.

Before the bandit can recover Marcus steps forward and swings his right arm as a hook into the bandit's jaw. The sound of the impact makes Tess shudder as the bandit is thrown backwards into the wall behind him. The sound of bones breaking from the hook is terrifying to say the least, let alone the bandit flying across the street from one punch. The bandit lays there unconscious, blood pouring of his head when Marcus' spiked knuckles hit him.

The other bandits remaining standing in fear after seeing Marcus display his strength against them. They appear to doubt their resolve for a second before stepping towards Marcus again. Apparently, their resolve to do the Dark Knight's will and their fear of him exceeds their fear of Marcus.

Instead of backing away to get a better defensive ground Marcus steps forward, reaching back and drawing his sword. Marcus draws his sword slowly with one hand till it's fully drawn. He slams the tip on the ground, cracking the stones on the rounds from the weight of his sword.

"I'll give you one last chance to walk away with your lives." Marcus growls as he lifts his massive sword effortlessly with one hand. "I don't want to kill you, the King would want me to give you the chance to live, only taking your life as a last resort. I advise you take this chance and walk away, if any of you are left it'll then this will be your last day to live."

Tess is taking back by Marcus' bold statement, he's outnumbered three the one, the bandit with the dislocated arm doesn't count. But Marcus' threat seems to work a little as two of the bandits back away from Marcus. One bandit, however, screams in fury and rushes towards Marcus. The bandit swings his sword at Marcus' head only to be met by the flat of Marcus' sword. With little effort Marcus deflects the attack, pushing the bandit into retreat as he swings his sword with more speed and precision that even Tess is amazed. Before the bandit can recover Marcus brings his sword down on him, his leather armor not doing anything to stop Marcus' sword. It's over in an instant, with bandit collapsing lifelessly on the ground.

The remaining two bandits back away seeing their comrade sliced like it was nothing. Marcus, however, doesn't wait for the shock to go away as he advances on the nearest bandit. The bandit raises his sword to protect himself as Marcus swings his sword in a horizontal slice but it's in vain. The strength of Marcus' swing and his sword are too much from the bandit's blade as the impact shatters the blade and the razor-sharp tip of the Zweihander finds its home in the bandit's neck. Marcus'blade doesn't slow down as it meets flesh and spine, severing a life with ease.

The remaining bandit rushes as Marcus from the right swinging his sword at his feet. Marcus responds in time to block the attack and deflect it. The bandit, full of rage, unleashes a fury of cuts at Marcus thinking his swift attacks will be too much for Marcus' heavy sword to keep up with. But Marcus' defends against the bandit's attacks with ease, as if he was using a normal sword instead of a giant one. Watching Marcus defend, Tess knows that Marcus is just playing with the bandit. The blows from the bandit are average at best, even an adequate sword could defend against them with ease. But Marcus is defending himself with a giant sword that Tess knows she would have trouble even lifting. Marcus doesn't back up as the bandit doesn't let up his attacks.

Out of the corner of her eye Tess notices the bandit she injured trying to make his way around Marcus, a long dagger is in his uninjured arm. Tess rushes towards him and slices at his leg, her blade cutting deep into his muscles. The bandit collapses, screaming in agony.

"You're not going anywhere." Tess shouts as she kicks the dagger away, keeps her sword pointed at the bandit.

Marcus deflects another blow from the tiring bandit with ease. The bandit has attacked nonstop, with poor precision and speed, making it easy for Marcus to defend himself with his giant sword, though it's clear that Marcus is getting bored. Marcus directs his sword into a vertical defensive block as the bandit tries to slice him, the impact knocking the bandit off balance. With ease, Marcus uses the momentum of his block to spin around with blinding speed and thrusts his sword at the bandit's chest. The bandit's leather armor is easy prey for Marcus's sword, doing nothing to stop it from penetrating halfway up the blade.

"You have yourself to blame for this, I gave you the chance to flee." Marcus says as pulls his sword out and the bandit drops to the floor with a thud.

Tess keeps her sword pointed at the injured bandit but doesn't take her eyes off Marcus. After watching the man hack his way through four bandits like it was nothing was amazing, especially with the giant sword he wields. But from the reaction of the people nearby it's also terrifying, several of the citizens have taken off running. They did just watch Marcus nearly cleave a man in half like it was nothing.

"TESS ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Tess looks up the road to see Leinad and Audric running towards her with their swords drawn and a few Noble Knights following close behind them. Apparently, a citizen saw the fight and ran to the Noble Knight headquarters. Leinad sees the bodies on the street and Marcus standing over them near Tess. Without hesitating Leinad sprints in front of Tess, pointing his sword at Marcus. Audric and the Noble Knights surround Marcus who remains standing, trying a little not to look like a threat, which for a man his size and with his sword is nearly impossible.

Marcus rolls his eyes as he places his sword on his back. "I got to say, you guys got impressive timing."

Audric and the Noble Knights hardly move as Marcus relaxes. Seeing him put his Zweihander away certainly eases their suspicion of him, it means he's not a threat, for now at least.

"What happened here Tess?" Leinad asks as he looks at Tess.

Tess places a hand on Leinad's sword arm. "This man saved my life. These bandits grabbed me, and he distracted them, so I could break free of their grip, then he took them all on." Tess points her sword at the bandit she cut who's still holding his injured leg. "This guy will have some answers. They seemed to know him, which strikes me as odd to say the least."

Leinad reluctantly lowers his sword and approaches Marcus. "Did you save my wife from these bandits?"

Tess smiles and nods. "Yes, if it wasn't for him then who knows what would've happened to me."

Leinad sheaths his sword and slowly approaches Marcus. "Then I guess I owe you my thanks."

Marcus extends his hand. "I'm happy to help, I can't stand bandits. I need Tess alive."

Tess nearly slapped her forehead in frustration at Marcus' words. Apparently, Marcus has no concept of timing or conversation skills. There are so many ways and different times Marcus could've said that, but he happened to choose the worst for both.

Leinad jumps back shocked to hear Marcus mention Tess' name. "Why do you need my wife alive?"

"I should have phrased that better." Marcus says, shaking his head. "I know it seems strange me getting straight to the point, but the King told me to meet with her, Leinad, and Audric."

Leinad looks at Marcus for a moment trying to make himself believe that what this man said is true. " _Could this really be true, could the King have sent this giant of a man to us?"_

Leinad smiles a little at Marcus. "Well, the King must really be guiding you, all three of us are right here."

Tess fights back a laugh watching Marcus gasp. Seeing the big man gasp like a young boy is humorous to say the least. Even Leinad and Audric seem amused by Marcus' reaction.

"You're Leinad?" Marcus replies, a little shocked, then looks at Tess. "You're married to Leinad? This is a small world."

Leinad tries to wrap his head around this, the more conversation he has with Marcus the stranger things get. "Ok, Tess, what is going on here?"

"I don't fully understand it either, but there is one thing I can say for certain. After talking to this man and observing his fight, I can say that this man has definitely been with the King and has been sent by him."

Leinad and Audric stare at Tess for a moment, unsure to believe her or not. From their experience with Tess they know that she has incredible abilities when it comes to evaluating people just by observing them. Leinad believes Tess almost immediately, knowing better than to go against anything his wife tells him. Observing the way Marcus carries himself and his eyes, Leinad can see as plain as day that Marcus has been in the King's presence before, it shows off on anybody who ever has. Audric on the other hand, isn't so easily convince.

Audric steps forward, eyeing Marcus over, not sure what to believe. "If it wasn't for Tess' word you would most likely be under arrest and on your way to the Chessington jail. "Who are you stranger?"

"I am Marcus . . . the Dragonheart."

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Marcus has arrived at Chessington and within hours caused one heck of a ruckus. He saved Tess from a kidnapping and killed multiple bandits in the process with relative ease. But Marcus brought with him more answers than questions, most importantly who is he and why the King call him to Chessington?

Please leave a review, I want to know what you think and how I can improve the story.

Hope that you are enjoying the story so far. The next chapter will be uploaded as soon as possible.

This is John Storm signing off. Stay Frosty ya'll


	2. Tense Discussions

Here we go, the second of The Knights of Arreththtrae: Sir Marcus the Dragonheart. This chapter took longer than I thought it would, but I think that it turned out well. 

This chapter is mostly an explanation chapter, to explain who Marcus is, and to people who haven't read the series. I know that in this chapter Audric is out of character than what he was in Kingdom's Call and Kingdom's Hope, but that's because he's suspicious of Marcus. 

I finally finished reading "The Knights of Arreththtrae" series and I got to say they're amazing. They're just as good as "the Kingdom Series"

I don't own the Kingdom Series or the Knights of Arrethtrae series, they belong the Chuck Black.

Hope you enjoy the story.

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Chapter 2: The Legend of the Dragon

"Are you sure about this man Tess?" Audric shouts loud enough for the entire room of Noble Knights to hear. "For all we know this man could be a Shadow Warrior."

"He's not big enough to be a Shadow Warrior, or a Silent Warrior either." Leinad replies before Tess can answer. "I've fought Shadow Warriors before, and interacted with Silent Warriors multiple times. While Marcus is certainly a giant man he's not quite big enough to be either. Plus, his appearance and personality are different than any I've ever seen."

Tess stands up beside Leinad. "You have never questioned me before Audric, but I assured you, after watching him fight, and talking to him, that he is not a Shadow Warrior. I will admit, Marcus is definitely odd, but he's a gentle giant."

"He certainly wasn't gentle with those bandits he slayed." A Noble Knight shouts.

"That's because he was protecting me." Tess shouts back angrily at the Knight. "And what do you expect from a guy who wields a sword as big as he does."

Tess must take a step back to keep her anger in check. The Noble Knights have been everything but noble in their treatment towards Marcus so far. Immediately after Marcus stated who he was he was all but chained up. Tess found his treatment horrible, especially for a man with his reputation. She believes it's because of his size and the mess he made with the bandits. Despite stating that he was on business from the King, Marcus was treated like a prisoner, with four Noble Knights constantly watching him. Though after seeing Marcus fight, Tess knows that four Noble Knights are not enough to contain him. His weapons were confiscated and are not lying on the table in front of her and Leinad. Besides the Zweihander Marcus also had a smaller sword similar to Leinad's.

The last two hours have been chaotic to say the least. Most of the citizens of Chessington were upset about the skirmish, and the mess Marcus left. It took nearly an hour for the Noble Knights to calm things down. Once they did Marcus was escorted to the Noble Knight headquarters under heavy guard, Tess was surprised he went willingly. Tess explained what happened to Leinad who immediately believed her take Marcus was sent by the King, or at least by a messenger. Shortly afterwards, Audric assembled the head of the Noble Knights to discuss the incident. Leinad and Tess wanted it done quietly but now they had no choice.

"What happened on that street anyway? Why would he leave such a mess?" A Noble Knight shouts.

Tess rolls her eyes, she's getting tired of explaining this. "You want the long version or the short version?"

"Uh, short version."

"Good, the less time we talk the less time Marcus is unjustly held against his will." Tess says in a serious manner. "I was visiting the market when I met Marcus. I thought he was a Silent or Shadow Warrior at first due to his size, but after talking to him I learned that he was servant of the King just like Leinad. It was during our conversation that bandits, carrying swords I haven't seen before, tried to kidnap me and kill Marcus. I broke free and injured one, but Marcus took on all the others. You saw for yourselves the results of the fight, Marcus defeated them with ease. Leinad, Audric, and a few Noble Knights arrived shortly after that, and you all know the rest."

"I saw the results myself, I find it hard to believe that one man could make such a bloody mess and not be a Shadow Warrior." Audric says.

Leinad picks up Marcus' sword. "Trying to keep things clean with a sword like this is nearly impossible. With Marcus' strength and this sword it's hard to imagine any armor that could withstand a blow from him."

Tess can't help but smirk. What Leinad said is true, she saw firsthand the effectiveness of Marcus' weapon. After seeing Marcus break an opponent's sword she doesn't want to face him.

"Ok, you got a point there, but how can we know for certain that this man is our friend?"

"Because I saw it in his eyes. The man has an essence about him that one only gets after being in the presence of the King." Tess answers.

"And how do you know that?" Another Noble Knight shouts.

"Because I see it in Leinad every time I consider his eyes. I didn't see it in Leinad till after he had been with the King, before he defeated Lord Fairos. Marcus has the same look in his eyes." Tess answers. "And as he was fighting I noticed his moves, particularly his stances, were identical to Leinad's. Meaning he most likely had the same teacher."

Mumbling echoes across the great hall. From what Tess overhears, most are agreeing with her, at least Leinad is on her side, the Noble Knights value his opinion. Tess finds it hard to believe that anyone could see Marcus as an enemy, especially after he defended her. Though Tess can hardly hear the muffled conversations, she can hear that most of the naysayers believe Marcus is an enemy because of either his appearance or his abrupt way of addressing himself. Marcus did come out and say that he was looking for her, Leinad, and Audric immediately, which made everyone suspicious.

Leinad finally calls for everyone to be quiet. "Noble Knights, it is becoming clear that Marcus is not a threat to us or Chessington. The longer we keep him in his current condition the more it'll take to earn his trust."

"But Sir Leinad, we can't just let Marcus go, not till we're certain he's no longer a threat to us."

"I assure you, my presence here is not as a threat to you, only to those who seek to do Chessington and the King's people harm."

The hall becomes deathly silent as Marcus walks up the table, escorted by four Noble Knights. Marcus isn't wearing his cloak anymore, his armor now fully revealed and the sight of it and him is stunning to say the least. No one remains standing as Marcus enters the Great Hall.

Marcus' armor is a lamellar style set, with small pieces of strange metal intertwined so tightly together that a dagger or arrow could not penetrate. The metal plates are look very strong but lightweight metal, isn't of Arrethtraen origin. To Leinad it looks like the metal plates are made from the same metal as his own sword, as are Marcus' own weapons. The metal is almost as white as snow, but dark enough to where light wouldn't gleam off, making it usable for stealth. The armor looks nearly as heavy as steel plate armor but even more sturdy. Marcus' armor looks like it could take a direct hit from a broadsword and barely get a dent. On Marcus' chest is the mark of the King. Seeing the King's mark almost immediately wins Leinad to Marcus' side. A man who wears the King's mark this boldly is certainly NOT a servant of the Dark Knight.

"How long have you been listening?" Leinad asks.

"The entire time, I could hear you arguing from the next room. I figured it was time I stepped in to defend myself."

Tess smiles as she stands up. "There's nothing to defend Marcus, we just want to know more about you. Apparently, there's still people here who don't trust you, despite the fact that you saved my life.

"I was honored to do so. This isn't the first time I've had to explain myself before a city's Knights. As long as I can eventually earn your trust I'll be fine."

A Noble Knight suddenly jumps out and screams. "Are you really Sir Marcus the Dragonheart?"

Marcus nods, looking a little annoyed. "Yes, I stated that in the market."

"Is it true, did you really kill a dragon all on your own?" The same Noble Knight asks only to receive a glare from Marcus and everyone else. "What, I'm just curious?"

"If I had a piece of gold for every time I've been asked that I'd be as rich as the King." Marcus replies with a smirk. "That's partially true, people exaggerated what happened."

"I think we're getting a bit off track." Leinad says.

Everyone looks annoyed at the Noble Knight. They were expecting Marcus to defend himself only for a Noble Knight to ask him about a rumor that he fought a dragon. Even Tess is annoyed by the question. Marcus on the other hand, appears to be humored by the question at least.

"No, it's fine Leinad, I always have to explain this so might as well get it over with." Marcus replies. "Hard to believe how quickly fact can turn into rumor or an exaggeration. The only thing that is really true about what people say is that I killed the dragon."

"Uh what did happen, I haven't heard anything about you killing a dragon?" Tess asks.

A Noble Knight steps up. "The story I heard is that Marcus here rushed to help a caravan that was being attacked by a dragon. From what I heard Marcus faced it alone and cut its head off with one cut."

"Most of that isn't true." Marcus replies. "It is true that I was there to rescue the caravan, but I did not face it alone. The guards were trying to protect the caravan when I came rushing to help. If it weren't there help we wouldn't have been able to bring it to the ground. A lot of lives were lost in that fight, but we were able to wound it, until it chased after an elderly woman. I chased after it and of us went over a cliff. Before the dragon could recover I cut its head off, it took two swings, but I managed to kill it. No one saw we kill me, but they did see me standing over its body afterwards. Word spread quickly with I guess some people trying to make it more spectacular than it was."

"Maybe it's because you're not that good of a story teller." Tess jokes getting a few laughs."

Marcus smirks. "No arguments there, I just like getting straight to the point. But what upset me was the way the storytellers told the story. They made me seem way too powerful, glorifying my exploits. I didn't want that, for doing so took the glory away from the one person who deserves it, the King. That's why I don't like having a reputation, people usually see only my skill and not the King. All that matters to me is that I follow the Code and bring honor to the King."

Leinad and Tess look at each other for a moment. Though not a word is said, they're looks say it all. They can't help but be impressed that a warrior like Marcus can be so faithful to the King that he doesn't care about the glory or the money. If Marcus wanted to be he could be a formidable mercenary, possibly setting himself up as a Lord or bandit leader. Instead he chose a path of hardship and danger not for personal gain but a higher calling.

Audric suddenly stands up, bringing silence to the room. "And tell us why we should believe you?"

Audric's words stun everyone in the room. His statement is completely against his character to say the least. Audric is always calm, stoic, caring, and the last person to raise his voice. So, for Audric to raise his voice now tells everyone, especially Leinad and Tess who've known him for years, that something is either very wrong or Audric knows something.

"Why are you still questionable about this man Audric? I've never seen you like this towards anyone before?" Leinad asks.

"Because he's a member of the Ranger race. Rangers cannot be trusted, they'll cut your head off for your boots."

Everyone looks at Audric stunned to say the least. Audric is the last person they expected to say such a thing. He's usually quiet and calculated, the exact opposite of what he is now. To hear Audric speak like this stun everyone.

"Uh what's a Ranger? I've never heard of such a thing." Tess asks.

"I haven't heard of them either Audric? Are Rangers a group of warriors or something?" Leinad adds.

"Kind of, the Ranger race is . . . I mean was . . . a group of warriors that lived in the Northern Mountains. People called them Rangers because they were very territorial of their range of mountains. They killed anyone who set foot in their territory."

Tess looks at Marcus expecting to see him panicking a little, but what Audric's saying hasn't even disturbed him in the slightest. It's almost as if Marcus knew this would come up eventually, he probably did. But Tess expects him to at least defend his people, not stand there and listen. Marcus must be waiting till Audric's done speaking.

"The Rangers were raiders, often pillaging towns around the mountain, causing chaos and taking anything, they wanted. They would never destroy a village fully, just enough so that the people can rebuild, so the Rangers could come back and raid again. Many tried to stop them but were easily killed." Audric explains, fighting back his rage. "I witnessed one of their raids when I was a boy. They appeared out of the mountains like ghosts and raided everything of value. I watched them from my hiding spot as they burned down houses and killed those that resisted. It was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life."

All eyes turned to Marcus who just remains standing, not saying a word. The Noble Knights guarding him attempt to draw their swords only for Leinad to signal them to stop.

"Are you sure that Marcus is one of them Audric? You're making a big accusation of him."

"He's not lying." Marcus finally speaks, the room becoming quiet instantly. "I am a Ranger and yes my people did a lot of bad things. I will not deny that. But I am not like the rest of my race, though there is no more Ranger race."

"What do you mean by that?" Tess asks.

"Well, to put it simply, to my knowledge, I am the last Ranger. My people were enslaved and exterminated by Lord Xanthos. He was so effective that only I survived, though he did try hard to kill me. But that is a story for another time. I've never been comfortable talking about my peoples' enslavement and extermination."

No one says a word after Marcus's explanation. After Audric's description of the Rangers several of the Noble Knights wanted to kill Marcus to be safe. But after hearing Marcus say that he's the last of his kind, no one wants to continue that talk. Though they want Marcus to continue defending his people, it's clear that the subject is too sensitive for him.

"How do we know you're different then?" Audric finally says.

Marcus smiles. "Because I have been with the King. He showed me the Code and guided me down a path that I never thought possible. If it wasn't for the King I'd most likely be dead in a ditch somewhere, forgotten. Instead, I got a purpose to live for, fighting for the only one who is worthy."

"And how do we know what you're saying is true?" A Noble Knight shouts.

"Because you can see it in his eyes." Leinad speaks up for all to hear. "You can tell when someone has been with the King. Being in the King's presence changes you in more ways than you can comprehend."

"You say that because you have been in the King's presence yourself?" Audric asks.

Leinad nods. "Yes, I can see it in Marcus as well. Whatever man he was before is long dead. That's how the King works, He makes old, corrupt things young and good."

Marcus shrugs his shoulders. "That's one way to put it but yes. It's something that very few Arrethtraen have ever experienced, I'm honored to be one of them."

Leinad smiles as he turns to Audric. "Does that satisfy you for now Audric?"

Audric nods. "For now, yes, but I still think we should watch him closely."

Marcus shrugs his shoulders. "Fine by me, I'm willing to do that to earn your trust."

"That's what I volunteer too watch him." Leinad says.

Tess smiles at her husband as the Noble Knights mumble to each other. Leinad's word carries a lot of weight amongst the Noble Knights, more so than even Audric's. It's times like this Tess doesn't understand why Leinad doesn't want to lead the Noble Knights.

The people of Chessington see Leinad as a leader considering everything he's done for them. If it wasn't for Leinad the people would still be slaves under Lord Fairos. It was Leinad that defeated Lord Fairos and brought the people out of slavery. It was Leinad who gave the King's word and the Code to the people as he led them through the wilderness to Chessington. It was Leinad who guided the people as they build Chessington and advised Lord Quinn, though Quinn eventually became misguided and lead the people to ruin at the hands of the Kessons. It was Leinad who brought people hope during the rule of the Kessons till their fall, bringing them back to Chessington. It was Leinad who helped rebuild Chessington and establish the Noble Knights as protectors of the people. Finally, it was Leinad who delivered the Kong's message of promised hope of the one who is worthy to bring peace, prosperity, and honor to the entire kingdom of Arrethtrae.

But, despite all that Leinad has done, he won't claim responsibility for any of it. Leinad gives that glory to the King, who instructed him in more than the ways of the sword. It is the King who has guided Leinad, who he fights for. Everything Leinad has done he accomplished for the King, for nothing happens that the King hasn't planned. All that Leinad has achieved throughout his life is through the grace and love of the King. That's why Leinad refuses to become the leader of the people and/or the Noble Knights, it's not what the King has planned for him.

Marcus looks at Leinad. "Makes sense to me, might as well be under the watchful eye of the only person in Arrethtrae that can beat me."

Leinad fights back his smile. He remembers what the King told him at the end of his training in the wilderness, before he freed the people from Lord Fairos. The King told him that his skill was above anyone who belonged on this side of the Great Sea, excluding the King, the Prince, the Dark Knight, and a few Silent Warriors and Shadow Warriors. Marcus' skill must be equal to his if what the King said is true, which it always is. Looking at Marcus and based on what Tess told him, Leinad can believe it.

"I got to ask Marcus, why did you come to Chessington." Leinad asks.

"This is where the King's messenger told me to come. He said Chessington is where my mission will begin. Though you know how cryptic the Kong's messengers can be, he didn't say much beyond that I should come to Chessington and assist you for a time, till my purpose is revealed."

Leinad smirks a little. "That sounds about right, the Silent Warriors love delivering cryptic, vague messages. Though did he say what you are till assist with for now?"

"My guess, helping you defend Chessington from bandits or whoever attacks. The bandits that tried to kidnap Tess earlier will definitely be back."

The room falls deathly silent from confusion, till Tess finally speaks up. "What are you talking about, you handled them already?"

"Uh, has no one here heard of the Dragon bandits?" Marcus asks only to receive no answer. "Oh, I thought that you had, I would have told you sooner if I realized that you didn't know."

"You withheld information about us on a potential bandit attack?" Audric shouts.

"I thought you knew about them, the Dragon bandits are well known in the north. I've had a few skirmishes with them in the past. As I said, I thought you knew of them."

"That explains how the bandit that tried to kidnap me knew you." Tess exclaims.

"Yes, I've killed so many of them that their group has a reward for my head. But after seeing their usual tactics in the market earlier I can say for certainty that they're not here because of me. They probably don't even know I'm here." Marcus replies. "What they'd like you to believe about the Dragon bandits is that they are simply the largest bandit force in Arrethtrae. Unfortunately, when something involves Luscious, there's much more to it."

"The Dark Knight?" Tess exclaims."

"Yes, the Dragon bandits is actually lead by two Shadow Warriors following the Dark Knight's orders. I know because I've seen them, it's hard to mistake a Shadow Warrior when you know what the look for."

"If you've seen them then how come you didn't act and slay them?" Audric nearly shouts.

"Because I was alone, and I'd have to fight through three hundred skilled bandits before I made it to them. I'm brave but not suicidal, at least not anymore." Marcus answers. "These two Shadow Warriors recruit anyone they can find, promising adventure, wealth, women, whatever they can to get the worst people to join them. But they keep their real master a secret from those they lead. The Dark Knight doesn't directly lead them, his only orders are to cause chaos and destruction, they are free to do that however they see fit to do it."

"That doesn't make a lot of sense. Why does the Dark Knight allow them to operate freely?"

"Because that way they are able to cause untold amount of damage with ease and able to keep their secret. In the end, destruction and chaos is what the Dark Knight wants, before he establishes his rule over a people desperate for safety. The Dark Knight is just as smart and crafty as he is powerful." Marcus explains. "You already saw their favorite tactic for attacking larger, better defended cities."

"What tactic?" Leinad asks.

Marchs sighs softly. "The Dragon bandits have a genius way of attacking cities, and they tried it here, and would've succeed if I hadn't intervened. They always send out scouts before attacking, and if the city has a large enough fighting force they'll turn to a genius method. The scouts wait till a city leader, or someone important to the city is in public and kidnap them, they want the citizens and Knights to see it. Then they run off with their captive a good distance away from the city. They always target an important citizen because the city will do anything to get them back, and they always rush to do it, which is always sending out every available Knight they can to bring that person back. The scouts wait till the Knights arrive and get close, that's when the entire bandit group ambushes the Knights and kills them. In the process they take out most, if not all the city's defenders, leaving them defenseless. After that the city is raided, everything of value is taken, and they kill everyone they can."

The hall falls silent after Marcus finishes speaking. The Dragon bandits' strategy is horrifying to say the least. No one is shocked more than Tess, realizing that she would've been used as bait for the death of everyone she loves. It scares her to realize that the bandits were probably spying on her and she never realized it.

"Does this strategy always work for them?" Leinad asks.

Marcus nods. "I've seen the results of this twice and witnessed it from a distance once. There was nothing I could do to stop it. This is the first time their strategy has failed, which works brilliantly in our advantage."

"How is this to our advantage if we're about to be attacked?" Audric asks.

"Because we know the attack is coming for one thing, no other city they've attacked has known that. But our biggest advantage is the fact that the Dragon bandits don't know that their scouts are dead, and one is sitting in your jail. They have been known to wait days before even beginning their kidnapping attempt. So, it'll be a few days before they even begin to get suspicious, and even more till they realize their scouts aren't coming back."

"How long do you think we have before they attack?" Leinad asks.

"I'd say at least a week, but it's hard to say. Chessington is a big prize for the Dark Knight, so I'd expect them to be ruthless when they do attack." Marcus answers. "I know many of you don't trust me, but I'd like the opportunity to prove myself to you. Let me help you defend Chessington."

Marcus remains silent as the Noble Knights argue amongst each other. He never imagined he'd receive this much apprehension when he arrived in Chessington. Thankfully, most of the Noble Knights are with him, Marcus has Leinad and Tess to thank for that, their voices carry a lot of weight with the others. There's only a few that are against him, mostly because of Audric mentioning him being a Ranger and the mess he made in the market. Marcus is surprised that the Noble Knights aren't getting through this quickly, with the impending attack.

Tess finally stands up. "Come on people, Marcus here saved me from these bandits. He risked his life to save mine. If that's not proof that he's on our side than I don't know what is."

The Noble Knights eye each other, knowing that what Tess said is true. Marcus' actions in the market are more than enough to prove himself. Plus, his skill and experience with the Dragon bandits will be useful in the upcoming battle.

Leinad looks around the room, examine each Knights' face, before speaking to Marcus. "Well Marcus, though it looks like a few of the Knights don't like the idea of you here, I think we can trust you. You obviously have my wife's and my trust, I'm sure you can earn the others over eventually. We need him to protect Chessington from these bandits. So, I'd like to say welcome to Chessington."

Marcus smiles as he lays a hand on Leinad's shoulder. "Happy to be here in the King's blessed city amongst brothers and sisters for the King. The King reigns."

Leinad lightly pats Marcus' shoulder. "The King reigns."

To be continued.

* * *

After meeting with the Noble Knights tensions are high between Marcus and Audric, a few don't trust him. If it wasn't for Leinad and Tess he probably would've been forced out. As it turned out Marcus is a legendary knight for the King on a purpose. Marcus has also warned the Noble Knights of an impending attack by bandits lead by two Shadow Warriors. Thankfully, Chessington has a week to prepare, and Marcus has that time to earn the trust of the Noble Knights, particularly Audric's. 

Please leave a review, I want to know what you think and how I can improve the story.

Hope that you are enjoying the story so far. The next chapter will be uploaded as soon as possible.

This is John Storm signing off. Stay Frosty ya'll 


	3. Preparation

Here we go, the next chapter The Knights of Arrethtrae: Sir Marcus the Dragonheart. I'm glad I finally got this chapter finished. This chapter turned out being longer than I thought it would.

This chapter, like the previous one, is more of an explanation chapter, a lot of it focusing on Marcus' backstory. Don't worry, the next chapter is a battle.

As I'm writing this chapter I'll be implementing some biblical and personal lessons I've learned over the years. The first one is on anger, something I've struggle with when I was younger.

Hopefully I did this chapter well. I've been busy and distracted lately. By distracted I mean playing Fallout 3. So, if there are errors I missed I'm sorry.

WARNING: this chapter has heavy graphic material, including cannibalism. This chapter may not be for the weak hearted, so please read cautiously.

I do not own The Kingdom Series or the Knights of Arrethtrae series, they belong to Chuck Black.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 3: Preparations

2 days later

"Leinad, have you seen Marcus?" Tess shouts as she enters the council chamber.

The three Noble Knights, and Audric and Leinad look up from the map they're gathered around to see Tess walking towards them. Normally, Tess isn't this interruptive of a meeting, most often she's part of it. As usual Tess looks determined about something, this time that something is Marcus. Her fascination with the man is unusual to say the least, if Leinad wasn't married to her and knew that she's completely loyal to him, he'd be suspicious that Tess is attracted to Marcus. But, considering Marcus saved Tess' life Leinad can see why she wants to help him.

"Sorry Tess, I haven't seen him in a while." Audric answers.

"I saw him this morning at the stables where he's been staying." Leinad adds.

"Last time I saw Marcus he was heading into our headquarters, that was an hour ago." A Noble Knight says. "I think he was heading into the lower chambers."

"Thank you, Derek." Tess nods at the Knight then turns the leave.

"Hey Tess, why are you looking for Marcus?" Leinad asks.

Tess turns around. "I'm looking to make good on our word to find him a home."

Leinad's mind quickly snaps to the gathering two days when he said he'd look after Marcus. It takes Leinad a moment to realize that Tess means Marcus staying with them till he finds a place. As much as Leinad dislikes the idea at first, he knows better than to argue with his wife.

Leinad takes off after Tess, leaving the Knights and Audric behind. "I think I'd better go with you."

Tess rolls her eyes. "If you say so."

Leinad and Tess walk through the Noble Knight headquarters, towards the lower chambers. As they walk both notice the unusually high commotion in the headquarters. Since Marcus told them about the Dragon bandits the Noble Knights have been busy preparing, though there are still a few who don't believe him. Leinad is disappointed that no meeting has been called to address the obvious coming of the Dragon bandits. To Leinad and Tess the meeting can't come soon enough.

Leinad and Tess enter the inner chamber and freeze when they see Marcus standing in the middle of the chamber with his back to them. Right in front of Marcus is the scroll of the Code the King gave to Leinad in the desert so many years ago. Marcus seems to be studying it, in awe that such a small scroll contains the lifeblood of a Knight's life, guidance to a life lived in service to the King. Marcus hasn't moved a muscle since Leinad and Tess entered, leading them to believe he hasn't noticed them. Then Marcus suddenly speaks out loud enough for Leinad and Tess to hear.

"Honor the King with your life. Swear allegiance to Him and Him alone.""Serve the King in truth, justice, and honor.""Offer compassion to the weak, the destitute, the widowed, and the poor.""Live for the King and serve others without cause for personal gain.""Never abandon a fellow Knight in battle or in peril.""Equip, train, and prepare for battle against the forces of the Dark Knight.""Serve the King and faint not in the heart of battle.""Use the sword not to seek for selfish gain but rather to execute justice and the will of the King.""Be merciful, loyal, courageous, faithful, and noble, but above all, be humble before the King and before men.""Let your words always be spoken in truth."

Leinad and Tess don't take their eyes off Marcus. Just reading the Code influences people. The Code is the lifeblood of a Knight who's dedicated his life to the King. But the way Marcus spoke the Code leads Leinad and Tess to believe that he was reciting it from memory and his heart.

"This your first time seeing the Code?" Leinad asks.

"In a way yes." Marcus answers looking back at Leinad and Tess. "The King taught me about the Code in-depth. He explained it in ways that are nearly impossible to comprehend. I memorized the Code and have since sought to live my life as best I can to honor it and the King. But the Code is not something bound by paper, it simply cannot be, for it lives in all of us that serve the King."

Leinad smiles as he pats Marcus' arm. "It seems to me that the King did an amazing job training you."

"Well, the King did spend a year with me, so yes I would say so." Marcus smirks back only for his expression to quickly change. "That's just how messed up my mind was."

"We know that you weren't exactly a good person in the past, you made that very clear at the last meeting." Leinad adds.

"But you don't know the extent of it, that I was pretty much a mindless animal looking for a good death after losing everything I loved."

"Well we can't cause you won't talk about it." Tess replies, slowly walking towards Marcus. "And I can see that it's painful to talk about, so I'm not going to force you to."

Leinad stays back, watching Tess slowly approach Marcus. Tess has a soft touch that even a tough as steel man like Marcus weakens to. She knows he feels hurt from his past, her curiosity running wild, but doesn't want to push him too far. This is the first time either of them has seen a break in Marcus' attitude and it appears to be hurting him.

To comfort Marcus Tess gently lays a hand on his shoulder. "Unlike the Noble Knights Marcus, Leinad and I don't care about your past. I can see it in you that the King has changed you in ways no one else can."

Marcus slowly turns around to face Tess. "But someone needs to know my past. That Mark is dead."

Tess looks at Marcus confused. "Who's Mark?"

"I am, Mark is my birth name. Mark was an insane monster. But thanks to the King, Mark is dead, and Sir Marcus stands on his place."

"Ok, that's a little confusing, but I guess that's a good change." Leinad says, unsure how to properly respond.

"It's the best change possible." Marcus replies. "You see, I was born Mark in the Ranger City Zodiac, the hidden city in the Northern Mountains. There are a lot of rumors about Zodiac, most are true. Zodiac was the pride of the Ranger territory, it symbolized our power. It was believed that the city was impossible to find because it was hidden so well in the mountains, that only a Ranger can find it. For a time that was also true."

"Why is that, did Zodiac get discovered?" Leinad asks.

"No, a Ranger betrayed us to Lord Xanthos in exchange for land and wealth. I was eight at the time and remember it vividly. Lord Xanthos marched his troops to Zodiac but we were ready for his attack. However, Xanthos didn't attack Zodiac immediately, keeping his forces out of range of our defenses. He sat there for weeks doing nothing, and over time our Warriors let their guard down. Apathy got the better them, as it does many warriors. One night, our warriors got drunk and Lord Xanthos' man took advantage of it. Nearly all our warriors were too drunk to fight them, we would have stood a chance if they were."

"Apathy is a dangerous thing Marcus. Some of the best warriors in history have been defeated by apathy. But from what you described it seems like your warriors took it to a next level. I've seen and heard a lot of things in my life but for warriors to be so relaxed that they got drunk during a siege is just . . . stupid. I hate to put it that way but that's just the way I see it." Leinad says.

"I have to agree with my husband on that one." Tess adds.

Marcus can't help but smile a little. "I agree with both of you. I never understood the reasons behind it either, but I saw it with my own eyes. My father was basically our only warrior that wasn't drunk, he warned the others about celebrating, but they wouldn't listen. I watched as Lord Xanthos' men marched into my city and killed our warriors. My father was killed right in front of me." Marcus explains, trying to hold back a tear. "I would've died true, trying to avenge my father if my mother hadn't caught me. Though, getting killed probably would've been a better alternative than what happened to me under Lord Xanthos' rule."

"Wait, you watched your father die and you rushed to avenge him?" Tess exclaims.

"Yes, I saw Xanthos do it himself, as three of his warriors held my father down. I was so angry that I wasn't thinking properly. Even back then my anger was so bad that it nearly got me killed." Marcus replies, nodding a little. "Those who survived the attack were enslaved and taken back to Lord Xanthos' castle. What I experienced under his rule . . . I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I know that the people of Chessington, you two included, were slaves under Lord Fairos for a time but believe me when I say that when I went through under Lord Xanthos was much worse."

"That's saying a lot Marcus. You do realize what we went through under Lord Fairos' rule right?" Tess glares at Marcus.

"Yes, the King told me everything. I know that you had it bad, especially the final days. All I'm saying is that I went through things that were beyond torture."

"You keep saying that, but I find it hard to believe." Leinad replies.

"Well, for starters when we arrived at Lord Fairos' castle he saw the potential in me, due to my size and strength, and made me fight in his arena for him while the others were forced to build and expand his castle. I was only nine when I was forced into the arena and kill my first man with my bare hands. I remember it vividly, smashing the boys head against the arena floor till his head cracked open.

"Oh my, that's horrible." Tess exclaims.

"Unfortunately, that was just the beginning. Lord Xanthos loved torturing his fighters to the point of mental and physical exhaustion before a fight. He knew a fighter that's been deprived on necessities, food and water, is much more desperate, willing to do anything for food or water, making a bloodier fight. That's what the elites in his land want, a bloody fight." Marcus explained. "Lord Xanthos favorite torture method was withholding food from us for at least a week before the fight, and he barely fed us as it was. That way all he had to die to get us to fight was just throw food at us in the arena, occasionally throwing in wild animals to throw into the fray. Unfortunately, he took that method to the extreme more than once, turning more than a few of his fighters into something dark."

Tess gulps. "Are you saying that I think you are?"

"Yes, many of the fighters became so hungry and ravenous that they developed a hunger for human flesh. I was one of the few that never resulted to cannibalism, but I was effected by it." Marcus takes off his right gauntlet, revealing a large, mouth - shaped scar on his forearm. "I was twelve when I woke up to a fellow fighter biting my arm. That was the last thing he ever did."

Tess and Leinad are at a complete loss of word, till Leinad finally speaks after what feels like forever. "This is . . . just, monstrous. How could you have survived such a place?"

"By winning every fight I was in, and that quite a few. I was Lord Xanthos' favorite fighter, because of my aggression and will to win. Though he never got close enough for me to kill him, he remembered that I tried to kill him when he murdered my father. That's why he tried to warp my mind. He wanted to warp my mind till I became a mindless animal, and if it wasn't for my mother he would've succeeded."

"Your mother, Lord Xanthos spared her?" Leinad asks.

"Yes, while I was fighting in the arena my mother was assigned to the kitchen. She was one of the VERY lucky slaves, being treated nicely in kitchen. Though it wasn't easy for her, Lord Xanthos had a reputation for killing his cooks if they didn't prepare his food properly. Thankfully my mother was a good cook and learned what he liked." Marcus answers. "My mother is the one who kept me sane during my time as a fighter. That was no easy task, but my mother managed to do it. Despite everything Lord Xanthos did to me, my mother worked hard so I wouldn't become the monster he wanted. She hoped that his daughter would be a better ruler than him when she took over."

"Lord Xanthos had a daughter?" Tess asks.

"Yes, Zathora and she was beautiful, at least back then she was. I haven't seen her in a decade." Marcus replies. "Zathora was nothing like her father, from what I saw and what mother told me about her, she was as kind as she was beautiful, which is saying something. Lord Xanthos tried to get Zathora to follow in his footsteps, as a mad dictator, but he failed there. If she would have taken the throne Zathora would've released the slaves in an instant and brought peace to her land."

Leinad and Tess look at each other. The way Marcus is describing Zathora is suspicious to say the least. Even the look on his face tells all they need to know. If they were any less observant they wouldn't notice the twinkle in Marcus eye. They can see that Marcus had feelings for Zathora.

"Did you like her?" Tess asks, smiling deviously.

"Who didn't, but I never got the chance to even talk to her. As a slave in the arena the only time I got to see her was during the matches. Lord Xanthos made her watch, I remember she always hated watching. Too bad that's one of the only impression she got of me, the other one really ruined it, if you can call it that."

"What makes you say that?" Leinad asks."

"I'm getting to that part." Marcus says. "When I was fifteen, my mother cooked Lord Xanthos' meal the way she always does, but no one told her that he wanted it prepared differently. When Lord Xanthos tasted his meal, he didn't like it and ordered my mother killed. I watched as his men beheaded her" Marcus replies, wiping a tear from his eyes. "The one person keeping me sane, teaching me right from wrong, the only person I had left, murdered in cold blood right in front of me."

Tess approaches Marcus and lays a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss Marcus. I lost my family as well. You don't have to continue if you don't want to."

"Thanks Tess, but I need to." Marcus smiles down at Tess. "Seeing my mother murdered I went berserk. The only thought on my mind was killing Xanthos, no matter who got in my way. I got close, taking out several soldiers till Xanthos put an arrow in my eye."

Marcus lifts the cloth covering his right eye and the sight of it nearly makes Tess and Leinad vomit. There is no eyeball, just an empty eye socket.

"Ok, that is just nasty." Tess says.

"That's why one reason why I keep it covered." Marcus replies, covering his eye back up.

"How did you survive that?" Leinad asks.

"I don't know, almost didn't. Lord Xanthos thought I was dead, for the shot had knocked me out, and he dumped my body in what slaves called the death ditch. Think of this mile long ditched filled with hundreds of bodies of dead slaves and you got a good idea of what it was like. I woke up covered in the bodies of my fellow slaves, horrified, in pain, but far from calm."

"Ah, because they thought you were dead that gave you an advantage." Leinad says.

"Yes, sneaking into the castle was easily, only a couple guards got in my way, and it wasn't pleasant for them. I made it to Lord Xanthos chamber where, and that's where I took a big step towards evil, one that I regret now."

"Wait, are you saying you regret killing that monster?" Tess exclaims.

"No, I regret murdering him in front of Zathora." Marcus says, lowering his head in shame. "Zathora saw everything I did to her father. She saw me beat her father to death with my bare hands. Her screams and expression will haunt me to this day."

"Oh, you killed the girl's father in front of her?" Leinad shouts. "How could you do that? I mean, couldn't you have waited to kill him?"

"Yes, but as soon as I saw him, I just lost control. I was so angry that I don't even remember killing him. Next thing I knew I was looking down at his busted face, blood all over my hands, and Zathora screaming. A part of me, when I was Mark, died that night." Marcus explains. "After I awakened from my rage, I saw Zathora and told her to escape, I wasn't done yet. What I did next, I knew a lot of people were going to die and I didn't want her to be one of them. She escaped, and I haven't seen her since then, probably for the better, though I wouldn't mind seeing her again, so I could apologize."

Leinad and Tess watch, not saying a word, as Marcus turns around, wiping a tear from his eye. Seeing the big man cry is something they never imagined they'd ever see. The story of Marcus' past is anything but pleasant. Tess isn't holding back a tear, she doesn't want to hold it back.

"So, I think it's best this stays between us." Leinad says, breaking the silence.

"I agree, but I'm not done yet, there's still more to my story." Marcus replies. "After killing Lord Xanthos, and making sure that Zathora was gone, I decided to make sure that all evidence of Xanthos' rule was eliminated. I made my way into the slave barracks and released them all. That's when a massive battle took place, over a thousand unarmed slaves fought back against two hundred well-armed and experienced warriors."

"That must've been a bloody battle, many inexperienced, unarmed slaves fighting against a small group of well-armed, and experienced knights. Seems to me that it would be about even." Leinad says.

Marcus nods. "Yes, it was the bloodiest battle I've ever seen, which is saying something. Though if I could have predicted the outcome I would have quietly led the slaves, not start a battle, the result was not worth it."

"How bad was it?" Tess asks.

"Everyone died . . . everyone." Marcus answers sternly. "As far as I know, other than Zathora, I'm the only one who survived."

Leinad and Tess gasp. "That's horrible."

"Yes, it is, that is how the rule of Lord Xanthos coming to an end. With only one person besides his daughter knowing the horrors that happened. You will never hear any of this from anyone else."

"Marcus, you need to tell the people of Arrethtrae about this. People need to know what happened, so it doesn't happen again." Tess shouts.

"I know, but I don't want to be the one to tell it. I witness the horrors every time I tell it. Maybe in time I'll be man enough to tell it freely, but for now I want to keep it quiet. Can you promise me you won't tell anyone?"

Leinad and Tess reluctantly nod. "Yes, you have our word.

"Thank you, I just wish that had been the end of my nightmare."

"You mean there's more?" Tess asks.

"Well, there was a five-year emotional time where I was just a shell of a man. After what happened with Lord Xanthos I realized I had nothing left, no purpose, and a man without purpose and nothing to live for is basically a dead man. With nothing worth fighting for, I felt like a ghost roaming the Kingdom. I can't tell you how many times I contemplated suicide."

"That's no way to live Marcus. No one should want to die."

"I know, but I wanted to give my people a proper send off and suicide is a coward's way out. So, I traveled through Arrethtrae, searching for someone to give me an honorable death. For five years I searched, but instead found only weaklings. Somehow, I ended up in Kroywen, fighting gladiator matches . . . again."

Leinad looks at Marcus a little annoyed. "Really, you went from fighting death matches under Lord Xanthos to doing so on your own free will?"

"I never said as Mark I was smart. Fighting was all I knew, and I was good at it. I was a man full of rage and the only thing that helped was killing." Marcus says with a sigh. "Unfortunately, my actions drew the attention of someone far worse than Lord Xanthos . . . Lucius."

"The Dark Knight!" Tess gasps.

"Makes sense, an angry warrior with nothing to lose and no purpose can be an asset. Lucius probably saw you as someone he could manipulate through anger. A person of your size and strength is a powerful force, especially if they are aimed." Leinad says.

"Exactly, all he would have to do is train me a little and I'd be a powerful weapon for him, but that's all I'd be to him." Marcus replies. "It was after one of my matches that Lucius approached me himself, apparently I was important enough for him to approach him that way. Lucius promised me money, women, anything I wanted if I fought for him. Most of all, he said he'd help me rebuild my people."

"What did you tell him?" Tess asks.

"I'll admit, his offer was tempting, Lucius is incredibly smart and crafty. He thought I was just a dumb animal that he could manipulate, but I immediately saw the truth. I can't repeat what I said, it's not appropriate in any company, but I turned him down."

Leinad can't help but smirk. "After describing who you were I can imagine you weren't subtle in it at all. That took a lot of courage to say no to the Dark Knight to his face."

"In my defense, I didn't know that he as the Dark Knight. But I still would say no today."

"That still takes courage. I'm assuming Lucius didn't take it well." Tess says.

"Not at all, Lucius had his biggest Shadow Warrior attack me. Now I'm a big guy, but this Shadow Warrior is a monster, he was much bigger than me. He had no trouble beating me half to death. Next thing I know, I was lying in a puddle of my own blood, unable to move, the Shadow Warrior standing over me, about to snap my neck."

Leinad and Tess look at Marcus shocked, that someone as big and strong as him could be so easily beaten. They quickly remember that Marcus was up against a Shadow Warrior and was a completely different person at the time. Though knowing what Shadow Warriors are capable of, they're both surprised that Marcus is standing here before them. Very few people have faced a Shadow Warrior and lived to tell it.

"How did you survive?" Leinad asks.

"Well, I was blacking out, but I remember a powerful stranger showing up and saving me. The sight of him scarred away Lucius and the Shadow Warrior. I went unconscious before the real fight started. When I woke up I was in the woods, resting by a fire. I remember it vividly, waking up with my body in agonizing pain, and a stranger I've never seen but immediately knew there was something and different about him. There's no words to describe this man, the power he possessed, or beauty of the sword strapped to his side."

"Do you know this stranger was?" Tess asks, intrigued.

"I do now, and so do both of you. He's the one that saved you in the wilderness after the Vactor Deluge destroyed Mankin, and rescued you both from the Dragomoth's. It's the same man who owns the majestic sword you have locked away in your home."

Leinad's jaw drops. "How do you know about that?"

"I'm a Knight of the King, just like you, there's not much I don't know." Marcus replies, trying not to laugh.

"You mean, it's the same person?" Tess says in amazement. "The same person who's saved us twice has saved your life as well?"

"Yes, I didn't realize it at the time but now I know that it was the Prince who saved us. I didn't realize it, but I was very thankful, and very confused. Being half dead, and rescued by the Prince, has a way of giving us a new lease on life. I was very curious as to why He had bothered to save me, if I was Him I would've just let me die. But the Prince told me that the King had big plans for me. I didn't believe him, for what King would want a man like Mark fighting for them."

"You're not the first person to think that way. I've questioned my purpose for the King many times."

"That's an understatement hun." Tess says, teasing Leinad. "So, what happened next Marcus?"

"I'm not completely sure, I was still badly injured, but the Prince healed me with the life spice and lead, but I spent most of the time slipping in and out of consciousness. When me injures were healed the Prince said I was ready to meet the King. I didn't believe it till I woke up the next morning to find the King standing by the fire."

"You met the King?" Leinad nearly shouts.

"Yes, even though I've never seen Him before, and barely heard of Him, I knew who He was immediately. I was in the presence of the one true King, and nothing has ever come close to it."

"Nothing ever does my friend." Leinad says, smiling.

"I know, I felt insignificant being in his presence. I questioned him at length why he even bothered to save me. He said that a broken man who's been built back up under His tutorage and with the wisdom of the Code is an immovable object, or something like that, I was still a little groggy at the time." Marcus replies. "At that point in my life, I was so tired of living life without purpose, living on my own accord, doing so had brought me nothing but pain. Even though I had just met the King I knew that He was the only one who could end my pain and turn me into something good."

"That's how the King works Marcus." Leinad responds. "He sees the best in us even if we don't. He knows what we can do, the good we can bring this last."

"Exactly, seeing Him then, I knew He was the answer. I got down on my knees and begged him to ease my suffering, to make me into the man I can be. The King simply replied that I didn't have to beg, He's been waiting on me to seek Him. On that day, He told me that Mark is dead, and in his place Sir Marcus was born. That was the happiest moment of my life, for the first time in over a decade I had a reason to live and was happy."

"You made the best possible choice that day."

"I know, though the next year after that wasn't easy. Though I had skills and strength I lacked a lot that the King needed. What the King did for me no one else could have done, for no one has His level of patience, determination and skill. The King had to build up my mind and spirit significantly more than he did my body. He taught me of honor and the Code, to see the kingdom in a new light. The King turned me into a mindless, selfish animal into the honorable, gentle Knight you see before you now. It wasn't easy, I spent a year with the King, best year of my life." Marcus explains with a smile. "The King also took my sword skills to a completely new level. To the point where I'm equal to you."

"Really? I guess we'll have to see about that someday." Leinad says with a small laugh.

"After we defeat the Dragon bandits, then I'll be more than happy to defeat you."

"Men, always wanting to know who's better." Tess says, rolling her eyes. "You have a powerful story Marcus. Going from a mindless animal slave to a Knight of the King is a truly marvelous journey."

"And a painful one too. I'm glad I finally have someone to tell it too."

"You haven't told anyone your story?" Leinad asks, a little shocked.

"Yes, not the full story anyway. I've been very cautious to tell my story to anyone as I'm not sure how people will react to it." Marcus answers.

"I don't see why they would, as far as I'm concerned you're not Mark. You are Sir Marcus the Dragonheart."

The smile on Marcus' face gets bigger than either Leinad or Tess have seen. He's beyond happy to finally be accepted by someone, even when they know his past. Marcus catches Leinad off guard by hugging him. Leinad is jigged so hard that it feels like Marcus is trying to snap his back.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Leinad gasps.

Tess giggles as she hugs Marcus from the side. "As far as I'm concerned, you're one of us, despite what the others say."

Marcus lets go of Leinad, who nearly collapses, and smiles at Tess. "I'm happy at least some people here are accepting of me."

"Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way." Tess says, then grabs Marcus' arm. "Now let's get you moved in."

Marcus is nearly pulled off his feet by Tess. "Are you sure it's alright I stay with you? I don't want to take up too much space."

"Of course, I won't have a Knight of the King living in the stables."

Leinad shakes his head as he follows Marcus and Tess. Tess said very little to him about Marcus living with them, even though it is for a little bit. As much as Leinad doesn't mind he wishes Tess would have spoken to him more about it. But then again, Leinad's long since given up on debating with his wife, Tess wins every time.

X

"Hard to believe you're okay with sleeping in the stables." Tess says, holding her nose as she walks into the Noble Knight stables behind Marcus and Leinad.

"I'm used to it." Marcus replies as he shrugs his shoulders. "Besides, I smelled a lot worse than this during my enslavement under Lord Xanthos. This is nothing compared to the smell of a hundred rotting corpses."

"That's not something I want to think about."

"No, you don't, trust me. Though I'm sure you saw similar stuff under Lord Fairos."

"Well, yes and no." Leinad answers. "Lord Fairos was certainly cruel and loved _playing_ with his slaves in his arena, but he never killed them just for fun like Lord Xanthos did. He wanted to keep his slaves healthy enough, so they could work properly."

"I hate to say it but I'm jealous of you. Enslavement under Lord Fairos sounds much easier than what I went through under Lord Xanthos." Marcus sighs as he comes to his horse's stall.

Tess nearly freezes in her place at the sight of Marcus' horse, this being the first time she's seen his horse. Marcus' horse is easily a head taller than any other horse in the stable, most likely a giant breed of Clydesdale. Tess has seen a lot of horses, but Marcus' is most likely the biggest, it must be to carry him in full armor. Marcus' horse is dark red, almost as red as Marcus' hair. The horse is also very muscular, being run or kicked by it would be certain death.

"What a magnificent animal." Tess exclaims.

Marcus smiles as he walks to his horse's stall. "Yes, she is, Harbinger here has taken me through many battles. I could never replace her."

"I can see why, the only horses I've seen even close to her beauty and strength are those who belong to people that serve the King."

"That's how I got her. The King gave me Harbinger as a gift when my training with Him was complete." Marcus replies. "The King told me that Harbinger is the perfect horse for me. She arrives as a warning to death and destruction, bringing salvation with her."

"Don't you think that's a bit much." Leinad asks.

"That's what the King told me." Marcus replies, smiling.

Marcus walks to Harbinger's stall only to stop short of the door. Leinad and Tess are confused at first, till a young girl steps out of the stall, her head lowered in shyness. The girl has red hair like Marcus, but it's covered in dirt. She's much bigger than her age suggests, giving the impression she's a full-grown adult when really Marcus, Leinad, and Tess can see that she's thirteen at the most. The girl looks very strong for her age as well, easily stronger than any boy. He clothes, and face are covered in dirt, giving the impression she's homeless. But through the dirt, Leinad and Tess can see a similarity between he and Marcus. If Marcus was ten years older they'd think that the girl is his daughter.

The girl stands in front of Marcus, looking down at her feet like she's afraid of him. "Sorry Sir, I was just examined your horse. I've never seen one quite like her before."

Marcus smiles down at her. "It's alright miss, no harm done. I know you weren't doing anything to harm Harbinger. She wouldn't be this calm if you were. Harbinger can sense things about people that we can't."

The girl looks up at Marcus. "I noticed, she's very unique. More so than any other horse I've taken care of."

"Ah, so you're the stable girl then?"

"Yes Sir, I also live here amongst the horses, that's why I smell so bad."

"Oh, why is that?" Marcus asks, intrigued. "Don't your parents have a home?"

The girl shakes her head. "No, mother passed away last year, and I've never met my father."

Marcus lowers his head as he places a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear that, I know how it feels to be in your place. I didn't catch your name."

"Ruth, everyone calls me Bloody Ruth because of my hair and temper."

Leinad can't help but notice as Marcus is talking to the girl his gaze occasionally goes to the necklace she's wearing. Marcus seems to know what it means. Talking to the girl, Marcus seems to know a lot more than he's letting on.

"What do you mean by temper?" Marcus asks.

"Well, I have a bad temper, I get angry easier than most people, and with my strength that's not a good thing." Ruth answers with a sigh. "That's why I don't have any friends, and why the Noble Knights won't train me."

Marcus crosses his arms, his eye glaring at everyone. "What do you mean the Noble Knights won't train you?"

"Well, I've wanted to be a Noble Knight for a while, since they were founded by Leinad and Tess here. I want to fight just like Tess, the only female Knight in the order." Ruth replies making Tess blush. "But every Knight I've talked to said that I have too much anger. That anger is a bad thing."

"And which Knights have told you that?" Leinad asks in a huff.

Ruth points richer two Noble Knights on the other side of the stable. "Those two and several others. "

Marcus turns and glares daggers at the Noble Knights. The Knights freeze under Marcus 'gaze, not sure what to do.

"Well Ruth, I can tell you that from my experience and the time I spent with the King." Marcus speaks loud enough for the Noble Knights to hear. "That they are wrong."

Leinad and Tess try not to laugh at the faces of the Noble Knights. Marcus has no shame being so direct and speaking the truth. They know that Marcus is right and want to see how he'll handle this.

"You see Ruth, anger is not a bad thing, though many people would believe otherwise. Anger is an emotion, just like joy and sadness. What many people don't realize is that anger is a guiding force, it focuses your skills and motivation into something you can direct. That's what anger is, a point to focus on." Marcus explains. "When I was training with the King he taught me to focus my anger into a force for good. That's what I do in a fight, direct my anger into my attacks."

Ruth looks at Leinad. "Is such a thing possible?"

Leinad nods. "Yes, there is nothing wrong with anger, especially when it's directed to protecting someone and defending a city."

Leinad remembers when Zane attacked Chessington a year ago. If it wasn't for his anger seeing his friends and city in such danger he wouldn't have been so effective in the battle. Tess and Chessington still live today because of his anger directed to defend the city.

"Everyone feels anger Ruth, it's how you use it that determines whether it's good or not." Marcus continues. "It's when anger becomes rage that it is bad, and that's what people focus on that gives anger a bad reputation."

Ruth looks at Marcus confused. "Is anger different than rage?"

"Yes, rage is simply an extreme expression. Anger can be selfless, helping others. Rage on the other hand, is completely selfish. Not only that but it is also harmful, to yourself and others. It's rage that drives us to do evil things, to harm and even kill needlessly. Unlike anger, rage cannot be controlled, that's why it's so important to learn to control anger before it becomes rage." Marcus explains. "That's a basic way to describe rage and anger. But understanding the difference is the first step, controlling it is the next."

Ruth looks at Marcus worriedly. "How do I control my anger? I don't want to lose control."

"Through directing it mostly, though that's just one way. It helps to have someone to teach you." Marcus answers, then pauses to think for a moment. "I'll tell you what Ruth. If I survive this battle I'll come back and teach you how to control and aim your anger. We'll see where it goes after that. Who knows, I may even take you as my squire."

Ruth's face lights up with joy. " Are you serious?"

Marcus nods. "Of course, I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

Ruth hugs Marcus, "Thank you Sir."

"Please, call me Marcus." Marcus replies as he pats Ruth's back. "Now go clean up, I won't have my trainee stinking so bad."

Ruth squeals with joy and takes off running, leaving a smiling Marcus. Leinad and Tess stand there stunned that Marcus would do such a thing. He's the last person they'd see taking a squire, especially after just meeting the girl. But Marcus clears sees something in the girl they don't.

"I got to ask Marcus, why are you doing such a thing for Ruth?" Leinad asks.

"Because I see myself in her."

"It's more than that, you know something about that girl."

"Yes, I do, but I'll tell her after we defeat the bandits." Marcus nods. "I know that training her may not be the main reason that the King sent me here but it's something I feel like I have to do."

"Then I'd say go ahead and teach her. But have you ever trained anyone before?"

Marcus shakes his head. "No, but I know what she's going through. I can train her, though I got a feeling it'll be frustrating at times."

"You have no idea Marcus." Leinad smirks as he pats Marcus on the back. "You'll probably be pulling your hair out by the time you're done training her."

"He's right Marcus, training someone is no small task, and this girl seems like she's going to be a challenge." Tess adds, teasing Marcus."

Marcus rolls his eyes and replies sarcastically. "Great, you two are such a big help."

* * *

Two days later.

"Marcus, you're late." Leinad shouts as Marcus always up the steps.

"What can I say, I'm not excited to be angrily glared at again and doubted by your Knights. Last time I felt like you and Tess were all that was standing in the way of them attacking me."

"Just out of curiosity, what would you have done if they had attacked you?" Tess asks, knowing that what Marcus said is true.

"I would've slaughtered my way out, wouldn't have been as hard as you think."

Marcus' answer stuns Leinad and Tess at first, until they think about for a moment. Neither of them can blame Marcus for defending himself, if it had come to that. But Marcus having little trouble fighting his way out is hard for Tess to believe. Leinad on the other hand saw how terrified the Knights were of Marcus, many would have been reluctant and afraid to fight him, giving him an advantage. Leinad is also the only one who could match his skill so it's not too hard to fathom.

"Thankfully it didn't come to that and won't." Leinad says.

"I know, they should come around to me eventually." Marcus replies.

"Maybe this battle will prove you're not a threat." Tess adds.

"I hope so, I haven't been here a week and already I feel people glaring daggers at me."

"Give it time, the people will trust you eventually." Leinad responds, patting Marcus on the back.

The past two days have been restless for Marcus, Leinad, and Tess. Moving Marcus into their home was easy, he reluctantly agreed to move in with them until he built a home for himself and Harbinger. Marcus has spoken little else about his past, which Leinad and Tess didn't mind, they're just happy Marcus isn't Mark anymore. But Marcus has been very vocal about the Noble Knights' lack of actions about his report. He figured they would try to come up with a plan immediately, instead they've done little more than send a scout to verify Marcus' warning of the Dragon bandits. They've done some defense preparations but little else. Even Leinad and Tess are upset that the Noble Knights have done little with Marcus' warning. But, they're all glad that the scout has returned so they can finally discuss what to do.

Living with Marcus is easier than Leinad and Tess thought it would be, though hopefully he won't be living WITH them for long. Marcus is much better mannered than they thought he'd be. After Marcus described his people and the way he grew up they figured he'd be a pain to live with. It seems that the King taught him manners as well. But Marcus' table manners have a lot to be desired, he eats like a mannered wolf, gulping down food like crazy. What's worse about Marcus is his snoring, which is very loud. Last night Tess got so frustrated with Marcus' snoring that she slapped him awake.

Marcus stops at the entrance to the great hall. "Are you sure it's alright for me to be here? I don't want things to be like last time."

"Yes, it's fine Marcus, just don't say or do anything stupid." Tess answers.

"No promises there."

Leinad shakes his head as he opens the door to the great hall. The hall is packed with Noble Knights, all two hundred of them seem to be here. Now the Knights were arguing with each other, till Leinad, Tess, and Marcus entered. All eyes are on Marcus, making it awkward as he makes his way to the front table, sitting beside Leinad. No one says anything for the longest time, unsure where to begin.

"I'm surprised it took you this long to get the Noble Knights together to discuss the threat." Marcus says, finally breaking the silence.

"We had to be sure that you were telling the truth." A Noble Knights shouts. "It took longer than we thought to verify it. Our scout just arrived and verified everything you said."

An irritated look forms on Marcus' face. Apparently, getting the Knights' trust is going to take longer than he thought. Now, Marcus is glad the Dragon bandits didn't decide to attack while the Noble Knights were investigating his claims. At least the Noble Knights are always ready for a bandit attack, just not one of this scale.

"What did the scout see?" Audric asks.

The scout steps forward. "Everything Marcus says is true. There's a large bandit force hiding at the edge of the valley. I estimate their numbers to be over three hundred, just like Marcus said. From what I saw, their banner was a dragon, hence the name."

"Anything else?" Tess asks.

"Yes, I saw two massive warriors in black armor giving orders. Everything is just as Marcus said. Fortunately, they don't appear ready to attack, as if they're waiting for something, like the scouts Marcus took out to come back. So that part of their strategy is also true."

Leinad must fight back a laugh as the Noble Knights bicker amongst each other, realizing that everything Marcus said is true. The scout's report brings in several more Knights to Marcus' side. At the same time the Knights are also worried knowing that the threat Marcus talked about is indeed real, meaning they must address it. Sure, the Noble Knights have defended Chessington several times, but this threat is much bigger than the usual bandits they face. They've never had to directly face Shadow Warriors before, only Marcus and Leinad have done that.

"So, Marcus, you have experience with these bandits, you have any ideas how to defeat them?" A Noble Knight asks, a bit sarcastically.

Many of the Noble Knights are reluctant to turn to Marcus, some not fully trusting him. But, considering that Marcus has faced these bandits before he knows better than anyone how to face them. Leinad sees this as a chance for Marcus to erase all doubts.

Marcus just smiles. "Actually yes, I do. The Dragon bandits are known for their arrogance. We use that against them to lure them into a trap."

"Ah, arrogance always leads to downfall." Leinad says. "What kind of trap do you have in mind?"

"Simple, we make them think we're scared of them and lure them into a closed ambush. It'll mean dividing our faces, and the citizens fighting as well, hopefully not hand to hand though."

"The people of Chessington are ready to fight, but they are not trained to fight with a sword." Tess says.

"That's why they'll be using a bow. I'm assuming the people who volunteered and good archers."

"Yes, many of those who volunteered are hunters."

"Good, they're skill should significantly dwindle their numbers." Marcus replies. "If we divided our forces into three groups we can win this. We have the citizens who stay hidden at the city's edge, the main force of Noble Knights, and a small group of Noble Knights to wait and block the bandit's retreat."

"You want us to divide our forces?" Audric asks.

"Yes, to annihilate our enemy. Our main force waits for them a short distance away from the city. The citizens and other Knight force are hidden from view. The Dragon bandits will see their numbers triple ours and rush. That's when our main force retreats towards the city, drawing the bandits into the trap."

"Let me guess, right into the range of the archers?" Leinad asks.

"Exactly, the bandits won't even know they're there until the arrows have been fired. The arrow barrage will not only take out a large portion of bandits but also significantly stun them. Our main force will use this moment to engage from the front while our hidden force engages from behind. The enemy will be fighting two fronts at once. If our timing is right, we can eliminate this entire group in one battle."

Leinad looks around the room at everyone. "I like it, but what about the citizens, won't they be in danger?"

"Only if we fail to defeat the bandits. They won't actually be in the battle, just firing arrows from a safe distance." Marcus answers. "We just need someone to lead to hidden force."

"I'll do it." Tess shouts without hesitating."

"Are you sure, if this goes wrong you'll be significantly outnumbered?" Leinad asks.

"I can do it easily, you know I can." Tess replies, a little upset that her husband's till questioning her skills.

Leinad eventually caves into Tess' stare. "Alright, just be careful."

Tess smiles sarcastically at her husband. "Where's the fun in that?"

Leinad doesn't say a word, just smiles instead. He and the rest of the Noble Knights have learned to never argue with Tess. Tess can defeat any Noble Knight that crosses her, thanks to Leinad training.

Looking around the room it's clear that everyone is questionable about Marcus' plan. Not many trust Marcus enough to follow his plan, even less enough to follow it through. Several of the Knights don't even want him here, thinking that he's a security risk. If it wasn't for Leinad and Tess' word they probably would try to chase him out, try and fail.

Thankfully, many of the Noble Knights are seeing Marcus as who he really is, a gentle giant. Despite his intimidating appearance, Marcus is actually very kind, something he's demonstrated through his short time here. Like Leinad, he's assisted the citizens anyway he can, though some people won't let him because of their fear of him. Marcus has shown that he truly does care about people, in more ways than just fighting for them. He really won the people over when he saved an elderly man that had a cart tip over on him by himself. It'll certainly take time but eventually he'll earn the people's hearts.

Marcus clears his throat before speaking again. "Before I forget, during the battle do not engage the Shadow Warriors directly, if you must, do it in teams. Shadow Warriors are very strong and skilled fighters, they WILL kill you, and quit _e_ easily as well. You will know who they are when you see them, mostly likely being the only ones wearing heavy armored, and they're bigger than I am."

"Then how are we supposed to defeat?" A Noble Knight asks.

"Leave that to me and Leinad, and maybe Tess, we're the only ones who have engaged Shadow Warriors and won. Only engage them if you must, and certainly don't do it alone."

The Noble Knights mutter amongst each other. At first, they think that Marcus is just exaggerating. But the look on his face says otherwise. Leinad knows from experience that what Marcus' saying is true, and it takes him a while to convince the others that it's true.

"So, we're really trusting this man we know nothing about to lead us into battle?" A Noble Knight shouts as things quiet down.

Tess rolls her eyes. "Are we really discussing this again? This man saved my life, if that isn't proof enough than I don't know what is. Now, can we please get on the same page before these bandits' attack?"

Leinad can't help but smirk at his wife's reaction. While Tess is very gentle she has a temper that scares most people. People only see it in rare circumstances, and it always works at conveying her point. This time is no different.

Leinad looks around at the Noble Knights, waiting for them to quiet down. "So, we have a plan, let's get started with the preparations."

Marcus smiles as the Noble Knights begin filing out to prepare for the upcoming battle. "I hope this works Leinad, I've spent a lot of time planning this out. If this fails a lot of people will die."

"It'll work Marcus, I know it will." Leinad replies. "The King will not allow it to fail."

To be continued.

* * *

So, Marcus' story has been revealed, and it's a sad one. Marcus went from a mindless animal to an honorable knight of the King. Leinad and Tess have accepted him and are allowing him to live with them for a short time. Shortly afterwards, Marcus agrees to mentor young Ruth at least till she controls her anger. Does Marcus have the patience to teach her? We also finally have a plan to protect Chessington from the Dragon bandits, but will it work? 

Please leave a review, I want to know what you think and how I can improve the story.

Hope that you are enjoying the story so far. The next chapter will be uploaded as soon as possible.

This is John Storm signing off. Stay Frosty ya'll


	4. Battle for Chessington

Here we are, the next chapter of Sir Marcus the Dragonheart. Finally got a battle scene, hopefully it's up to ya'll standards.

Sorry if this chapter is a little lacking in terms of detail and general violence. I have little experience writing out battles of this scale, especially when it comes to sword/medieval battles. 

**Warning** : this chapter contains graphic gore, blood and guts stuff. Read at your own risk.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 4: Battle for Chessington

The warm, morning sun shines on Chessington Valley this tense morning. A calm, cool breeze blows the grass peacefully as the rising sun dries the morning dew. It truly is a peaceful, tranquil sight that the people of Chessington have come to love. But today, instead of warmth and love throughout the valley there is nothing but worry and fear of death.

Leinad looks to his left then to his right seeing the gallant Noble Knights ready to ride into the coming battle lined up beside him. Seeing such brave men ready to give their lives to protect the people warms his heart but not enough to push the concern for battle out of his mind. The tight leather and steel plate armor only makes the feeling worse. Leinad's always hated wearing steel plate armor, anything that restricted his movements, even a little, always makes him hesitant. But with the people of Chessington in danger Leinad pushes the concerns out of his mind.

Off in the distance a large dust cloud was visible, indicating the approach of either a dust storm or an enemy force. The outline of a large force can barely be seen, but even at this distance it's obvious their numbers are greater. Seeing the large force approach makes several of the Knights nervous to say the least. Leinad and Marcus overhear multiple knights mummering to each other about the plan, none of it good. This isn't the first time that the Knights have had to defend Chessington against a larger force, but never directly against Shadow Warriors. Leinad and Marcus can sense the apprehension amongst the Knights, both expected it. But despite their fears not one Knights refuses the fight, their duty to protect Chessington and its citizens far exceeds their individual fears.

Leinad looks over at Marcus as the bandits' approach and sees him not even flinching. Marcus not only looks calm but almost completely emotionless. The wind blows his blood red hair around like crazy though Marcus doesn't even seem to notice. His gaze is solely on the approaching bandit force, no hint of fear in his eyes. If anything, Marcus appears to be deep in thought.

"You seem unusually calm about all this Marcus." Leinad says, breaking the tense silence.

"Just taking it all in my friend. I've waited a long time for this moment." Marcus says, looking out over the approaching enemy. "Having fellow knights fighting by my side is new to me. I've always fought alone, or my allies turned against me."

"I know the feeling, it always feels better fighting alongside people you trust." Audric says, smiling at Marcus.

Marcus and Leinad look at Audric shocked and confused. "Did you really just say that?"

"Yes, you heard right."

"So, you're saying you trust Marcus know?" Leinad asks.

"Wouldn't be in battle with him if I didn't." Audric replies then looks at Marcus. "I want to apologize for my behavior to you. I let my experience with your people cloud my judgement."

"Apology accepted, and I don't blame you for being suspicious of me. I'm just glad now we can ride into battle as allies."

"As am I." Audric says. "So, Marcus, what are you going to do after we destroy these foes?"

Marcus sighs as he looks across the field towards the approaching enemy. "Find out what the King has planned for me. Defeating the Dragon Bandits is only a minor goal I need to accomplish."

"What do you mean Marcus?" Audric asks.

"Well, long story short, the King sent Marcus here for his purpose." Leinad answers for Marcus. "Finally destroying the Dragon bandits is just part of it."

"Part of my purpose anyway. Their destruction is long overdue." Marcus adds on. "But I know that this is just a minor reason why I'm here. I know there's something big the King has planned for me, I just don't know what it is. As much as I'd like to know what it is I can't focus on that right now. Destroying these bandits and protecting Chessington deserves my full attention right now, and I intend to succeed here."

"If your plan works." Audric mutters.

"It will, I guarantee it."

Marcus' words do little to comfort Audric, actions impress him more than words. Though, looking at the approaching enemy Audric can see that they really don't have a choice right now. It's either charge them and likely risk defeat or great loss or go with a well-planned defense from a guy who just showed up barely a week ago. If it wasn't for Leinad's word Audric would most likely not have even listened to Marcus' plan. Audric is glad he did, if the plan works then they have a chance of being victorious.

As the bandits get closer Marcus and Leinad can make out individual people, seeing that most are well armed though poorly armored, most just have leather armor as Marcus said they would. Each of the bandits has a horse, an unusual sight for the Knights, they've rarely faced a bandit force where everyone was mounted, making the fight that much harder. The only ones in decent armor are the Shadow Warriors, and theirs is better by far. The Shadow Warriors easily stand out amongst the bandits, wearing black, heavy armor and carrying large, evil looking swords. They're positioned strategically in the middle, so they can easily command. Compared to the usual bandit rabble the Noble Knights face these are significantly more organized and armed.

Seeing the enemy Leinad and Audric can't help but feel nervous. They know that if the plan fails slightly it could mean terrible results. Going against them head on would be a foolish choice, even though the Knights are better skilled the bandits' numbers and mounts would make it even, especially with the Shadow Warriors on the other side. The battle would be disastrous for both sides. Though many of the Knights don't like it seeing the enemy force eases their doubts on his plan.

Leinad can't help but worry about the citizens waiting in the city a few hundred yards behind them. The citizens that are positioned as archers on the edge of the city are inexperienced in warfare, but at least they are skilled archers. Though the people of Chessington have been through a lot, slavery under Lord Fairos, defeat and capture by Lord Keggon, and under constant threat of bandit attack, they are persistent to say the least. After having lived with them for over a decade, Leinad knows without a doubt that the people will fight to the end if they fail to defend them. But if Leinad has breath in his lungs that will not happen.

Once the Bandits are close they charge towards the Knights at full force. They don't stop to prepare or plan, just charge, exactly what Marcus was expecting. The bandits scream and press their horses as hard as they can towards the Knights, apparently expecting an easy fight. Leinad is a big surprised at their arrogance, Shadow Warriors are usually very strategical.

"Retreat!" Marcus screams so loud that the bandits hear it.

Without hesitating the entire force of Knights turn around and retreat towards Chessington. Leinad keeps his eyes on the bandit force as he speeds his horse away, making sure that their trick is working. Much to Leinad's surprise the bandits not only appear to be believing them but haven't stopped their charge. They appear to be moving faster to catch their prey. The Knights push their horses quickly towards the city to make their retreat believable, a slow retreat isn't convincing. Some of the Knights even scream in fear to make it convincing. They don't run too fast, so they don't get too far ahead of the bandits, but that is hardly a problem for the bandits on their fast horses, they're gaining ground quicker than Leinad, Marcus, and Audric predicted. As they get close to the city Leinad can make out the citizens standing on the roofs of houses bordering the city with their bow and arrows ready to release. Behind them the bandits are closing in for the kill. Thankfully, they haven't noticed the hidden citizens, and now it's too late.

Leinad waves his sword in the air so the citizens can see. "FIRE AT WILL!"

Leinad watches in amazement as the citizens launch a volley of arrows at the bandits. It's so sudden that Leinad nearly jumps at the sound of the arrows as they travel over the Knights and towards the bandits who haven't even realized that's happening. By the time the bandits realize it the arrows are nearly on them. The bandits don't have time to raise their shields as the volley of arrows rain down on them.

The bandits riding horses in front were the first to be hit, hundreds of arrows penetrating them and their horses. Their horses screamed as they took several arrows each, tumbling over each other with their riders on top. Several of the bandits are crushed by the weight of their horses landing on them. The horses took more arrows in the first volley than the bandits, which is exactly what Marcus and Leinad wanted, the front of the enemy force brought down slowing down the rest. Leinad and Marcus watch in a slight amusement as the front of the enemy force becomes an obstacle for the rest, causing several of the bandits behind him to trip and fall with their horses, making the field an even bigger mess. In the confusion many of the horses have panicked, several throwing off their riders, resulting in only a few still being on horseback.

"We stopped them for a moment, keep the arrows flying." Marcus shouts to the archers.

The citizens release arrow after arrow into the mass of bandits. Due to the confusion very, few Bandits are taking cover, leaving them easy targets. After a few moments the bandits wise up and grab their shields to protect themselves from the arrows but leaving themselves open to a charge.

Off in the distance, Leinad sees Tess and her force of twenty - five Knights break from their cover and charge at the bandit force from behind. The bandits haven't noticed them yet, their eyes focused on the trying to protect themselves from the arrows. Tess chose the perfect time to attack, the bandits are caught if an unprepared position trying to defend themselves from arrows but not their front and back.

Marcus raises his sword, signaling the archers to stop firing, then points it at the bandits. "CHARGE!"

Marcus pushes Harbinger forward with such speed and power that the knights are amazed for a moment. The Noble Knights pause for a moment seeing Marcus and Harbinger charge forward with such speed and power. Leinad follows right beside Marcus with the rest of the Noble Knights charging an instant later. The bandits are still recovering from the arrows when Marcus reaches them first. Marcus and Harbinger slam into the front of the bandit forces, sending several bandits flying and trampling a couple. A second later the entire two hundred men force of Noble Knights slams into the front of the bandits' forces. The front lines of the bandits' dissolves within seconds as the mounted knights engage the dismounted and weakened bandits.

As soon as the Knights break through the front lines Tess' force silently hits the back of the bandit forces, their only warning was the sound of their horses' hooves hitting the ground. Tess' forces immediately shatter through the enemy, engaging what little bandits there are still on horseback while trampling those on foot. Being heavily engaged on two fronts the Dragon bandits break rank and all chaos begins. Their original large numbers mean nothing now in the closed area, especially against the superior skill of the Knights. But the battle is far from over, the Shadow Warriors do not intend to lose so easily.

Leinad looks across the battlefield to see Marcus engaged in the heat of battle, fighting in the heaviest part. But despite being in the thickest and most dangerous part of the battle Marcus is fighting like a beast that's been let out of its cage. The gentle giant Leinad has come to befriend the past week is gone, replaced by a wild animal. Marcus fights with such fearlessness and ferocity that it's almost scary, even for Leinad. Using his entire body as a deadly weapon, not just his sword, Marcus is formidable on the battlefield to say the least. His size and strength give him a huge advantage over nearly all opponents that come against him. The bandits seem to realize this and several rush Marcus to take him down. Despite being outnumbered three to one the odds quickly turn to Marcus. Marcus fights like a wild but precise animal, his blows beating mercilessly on the bandits' swords and shields. He doesn't give them the chance to surround him, instead taking the fight to them. In a blur of steel two of the bandits fall almost immediately and the third is severely wounded before he realizes his friends are down.

" _Strange, I figured Marcus would kill them, maybe he does have some mercy."_

Leinad can't help but be amazed by Marcus' skill and aggressiveness. To Leinad it's become obvious why Marcus is making himself the center of attention in the battle, he's trying to draw the attention of the Shadow Warriors, as if he doesn't have it already. By drawing their attention it's less likely a Knight will become a victim of their aggression. His actions not only draw the attention of the Shadow Warriors but nearby bandits as well. By doing so he's taking their attention away from the Knights making it easier for them to win, but also putting himself at great risk.

Leinad takes his eyes off Marcus to focus on his opponent. The bandit tries to cut at Leinad's legs only to be easily blocked and Leinad counterattack a cut to his thigh. The bandit screams in agony as he collapses and Leinad knocks his sword away.

Looking around at the battle, Leinad can't help but shiver. Despite being an experienced warrior battles still horrified Leinad. It's not the fear of death that troubles him but the carnage. Taking a life is something Leinad tries to avoid at all cost, only doing so if he has no choice. Even in this battle Leinad tries to take as few lives as possible. But looking at Marcus it seems to be the complete opposite, as he's sparing very few bandits, only those who surrender.

The battle is going heavily in favor of the Noble Knights, but the bandits are still put up a fight. They'll probably keep fighting till they die, or the Shadow Warriors do. The bandits, despite the loses they've suffered in a short period of time, they do not appear to be faltering in their fight. The only indication that the knights are winning seem to be the mounting number of dead and wounded littering the ground. But with the bandits fighting a losing battle on two sides they will eventually lose morale, Leinad hopes it's before too many must die.

Out of the corner of his eye, while easily dominating a lesser opponent, Leinad sees a Knight rush towards one of the Shadow Warriors. Knowing the foolishness of the Knight pushes his opponent back and finish's him off with a slice across the chest and then rushes towards the foolish Knight. Leinad calls out to the Knight only for his earning to fall on deaf ears. The Knight engages the Shadow Warrior only to find out quickly how foolish his decision is. Within an instant the Knight is fighting desperately for his life against a much stronger opponent. Leinad lunges out to protect the Knight only for two bandits to jump in his way. With fury burning in him Leinad engages both bandits hoping to take them out quickly to save the Knight. Leinad makes quick work of one and turns his focus to the second only to watch in horror as the Shadow Warrior swings his sword that connects to the Knight's breastplate, not cutting through but sending him flying back. Knowing what's coming next Leinad lands a slice to his opponent's leg then runs as fast as he can to the helpless Knight, but it's too late. Leinad can only watch as the Shadow Warrior delivers a powerful, downward thrust as the Knight, penetrating his armor with ease. The Shadow Warrior laughs as he withdraws his blade from the Knight who collapses lifelessly on the ground.

The sight of seeing his friend's life ended so easily and without mercy pushes Leinad in a rage towards the Shadow Warrior. But with every step Leinad takes another bandit jumps in his way. Though Leinad makes short work of them it's slowing his process to the Shadow Warrior. As Leinad tries to get closer he sees the Shadow Warrior making his way towards another Knight that has his back turned to him.

"NATHAN, WATCH OUT!" Leinad shouts if he can but the clanging of swords makes it impossible for the Knight to hear him.

The Knight turns around as he pulls his blade out of a bandit's chest to see the Shadow Warrior nearly on top of him. Leinad knows the Knight has no chance to defend himself as the Shadow Warrior unleashes a deadly slice at his head. Out of nowhere, a splendid sword raises up with blinding speed to meet the Shadow Warrior's attack. The two swords clang with incredible force, the defending sword surprisingly not giving an inch to the Shadow Warrior's powerful blade. Leinad nearly gasps seeing that the sword belongs to Marcus who positioned himself between the Knight and the Shadow Warrior.

Without hesitating Marcus pushes his sword up, throwing the surprised Shadow Warrior back and opening him up. Marcus rushes forward and throws a powerful punch to the Shadow Warrior's gut. Though the Shadow Warrior's wearing thick, heavy armor, Marcus' blow knocks the Shadow Warrior back at least a yard, stunning him. The Shadow Warrior quickly recovers and raises his sword at Marcus.

The Shadow Warrior growls at Marcus as he takes an aggressive stance. "You, I thought we dealt with you at the village near Attenbury?"

"You almost did, but you made the mistake of assuming I was dead." Marcus smiles. "You Shadow Warriors should know by now I don't go down easy, and if I do make sure I stay down."

"Then allow me to correctly that mistake and put you down permanently." The Shadow Warrior roars and charges Marcus.

Marcus defends with expert precision as the Shadow Warrior aggressively attacks. Unlike the Knight, Marcus expertly defends against the Shadow Warrior's attacks, his arms not faltering against the powerful blows. Marcus' arms and sword hold strong against the Shadow Warrior's relentless attacks, not one comes close to penetrating his defense. Seeing no opening, the Shadow quickly becomes desperate, looking for weaknesses but finding none.

"How are you able to stand against me so easily?" The Shadow Warrior growls.

"I've faced many Shadow Warriors, you're fighting styles are very identical to each other, requiring me to adapt very little. I can almost predict how you'll attack me before you even do it." Marcus taunts the Shadow Warrior.

The taunt works as the Shadow Warrior rushes at Marcus, swinging his sword aggressively at his head. But Marcus predicts the rushed attack and side steps out of the way as the Shadow Warrior's blade hits nothing but air, throwing him off balance. Marcus suddenly explodes into a volley of attacks that catches the Shadow Warrior completely off guard. The Shadow Warrior finds himself in defense against Marcus's precise and powerful blows. The once proud, powerful warrior finds himself in retreat against a more skilled opponent.

Marcus swings up with a powerful cut that the Shadow Warrior tries to meet but Marcus twists his blade at the last instant. The sudden twist pushes the Shadow Warrior's blade to the side, leaving an opening for Marcus. Without hesitating, Marcus thrusts his sword at an opening in the Shadow Warrior's breastplate. Marcus' sword easily penetrates the weakness in the Shadow Warrior's armor and pushes through his body all the way to the back plate. The Shadow Warrior gasps and drops his blade as Marcus withdraws his sword, blood gushing out of the wound like a waterfall.

Marcus stands over the gasping Shadow Warrior. "Only a fool would think that he could fight against the power of the King and win."

The Shadow Warrior opens his mouth to speak but only air escapes. Marcus looks at the Shadow Warrior as he draws his last breath and leaves this world. With the Shadow Warrior's death part of Marcus is relived, his mission is nearly complete. But Marcus doesn't relax, the battle is still ongoing but almost futile for the Dragon bandits. The battle isn't over till the second Shadow Warrior is dead.

With the death the Shadow Warrior the bandits' morale dropped significantly. With more than half of their force dead or injured, one of their leaders dead, and fighting two fronts, several of the bandits have thrown down their weapons and surrounded. Marcus killing one of their leaders encouraged many of the bandits to just give up, either surrendering or fleeing. The only bandits still putting up a fight is the remaining Shadow Warrior and those around him. Many of the remaining bandits surrender when they see Marcus or Leinad approach them.

Leinad rushes to the heaviest part of the battle to see Tess engaged in the most intense area. Tess is more than holding her own, carrying the Knights on to fight. Her abilities never cease to amaze Leinad or the Knights. But then Leinad sees the ultimate test for Tess approaching her, the second Shadow Warrior. Tess sees the Shadow Warrior approaching but doesn't run. Instead Tess stands her ground as the Shadow Warrior raises his sword.

"Foolish girl, you think you stand a chance against me."

Tess smiles as she takes a defensive stance. "You're not the first person to underestimate me."

Tess catches the Shadow Warrior off guard by lunging in to attack. The Shadow Warrior barely blocks Tess' initial blow, having never been attacked so boldly, and recovers just in time to block another cut. Tess uses her opponent's surprise against him and twists her blade to push up his blade, leaving him open. Before the Shadow Warrior can recover Tess swings her blade and the tip penetrates an opening in his armor's side. The blow isn't lethal but it's enough to push the Shadow Warrior back.

The Shadow Warrior quickly realizes he's facing an advanced opponent. As soon as he realizes it he switches to aggressive counterattack to deflect Tess' attack and respond back with his own attacks. In an instant Tess finds herself defending against powerful and precise blows that someone with lesser skills couldn't protect from. Each time their blades hit it feels like Tess' arms are going to break. Defending against such a strong opponent is futile, especially one as skilled as this one. The Shadow Warrior knows his blows will quickly wear Tess down and make and easy kill. Tess must think of something quick before she's too weak to defend herself.

Tess suddenly sees an opening in the Shadow Warrior's offense and takes advantage of it. She jumps back, barely avoiding another powerful blow, and lunges her sword towards the Shadow Warrior's side. But just as Tess' sword is about to make contact the Shadow Warrior sidesteps and swings his sword down on top of Tess', the impact pushes her down onto the ground.

" _What, the Shadow Warrior faked an opening to get me off guard."_

Tess rolls to avoid landing hard and stops on her knees only to see the Shadow Warrior swinging his sword in a powerful vertical attack to end her. She barely recovers in time to raise her sword, the flat side of the blade taking all the impact. Tess stumbles back from the blow, her sword blown from her grasp, and trips over a body. The landing knocks he winds out of Tess who tries to recover only to see the Shadow Warrior slowly approaching her. Tess tries to crawl away but the Shadow Warrior steps on her leg.

"I got to admit girl, you're stronger than you look. Too bad you'll never live to grow stronger." The Shadow Warrior says as he raises his sword to strike Tess.

"That's what you think."

With the speed of a panther Tess draws her dagger and plunged it deep into the Shadow Warrior's knee. The Shadow Warrior screams as he lets go of his sword and drops to his other knee. As he collapses Tess quickly withdraws her dagger and raises up with blinding speed. Using both hand Tess drives the dagger, tip pointed up, into the underside of the Shadow Warrior's chin. The dagger penetrates the Shadow Warrior's chin and doesn't stop till the hilt hits his chin. Tess pulls the dagger out of the Shadow Warrior's head and he collapses lifelessly on the ground.

Leinad slows his approach when he sees the Shadow Warrior collapse and Tess stand up. He's very relieved to see that she not only survived the Shadow Warrior but managed to kill him, something very few people have succeeded in doing. But then Leinad sees a Bandit rushing towards Tess from behind, his dagger ready to finish her. The memories of the battle against Zane flood Leinad's mind, Zane cowardly stabbing Tess in the battle after he swore to retreat, holding Tess in his arms as she clung on to life. Seeing it now Leinad's not about to let it happen again. Leinad jumps to protect Tess, raising his sword to meet the bandit's blade just in time. With as much force as Leinad can muster he raises his sword pushing the bandits blade back leaving him open. Before the bandit can recover Leinad draws his sword towards him and thrusts towards his chest. The bandit's leather armor offers no protection from Leinad's blade as it penetrates his chest.

Tess smirks as Leinad withdraws his sword from the bandit. "Faithful Leinad, always saving my life."

Leinad shakes his head. "I got to, you keep on putting yourself in dangerous situations."

"Hey, someone had to take down that Shadow Warrior and you were too far away to it." Tess playfully growls. "Besides, I managed to beat him."

Leinad sighs as he turns away from Tess, he's giving up fighting with her. "This is why I love you."

Tess laughs as she looks out over the battlefield. "I love you too, but maybe we should focus on the battlefield."

"What battle?"

Leinad waves out over the battlefield for Tess to see that the battle has all but stopped. With both Shadow Warriors dead, the remaining Dragon bandits have completely lost their morale to fight. Across the field bandits are throwing does their arms and surrendering. Only a couple of bandits are still fighting, not wanting to surrender, they will be dealt with soon.

Leinad shrugs his shoulders. "I guess I was expecting more, usually our plans don't work this well."

"We have Marcus to thank for that, his plan worked perfectly. After the citizens arrow attack they were almost easy pickings." Tess replies, rubbing the back of her head. "I guess I got carried away facing the Shadow Warrior. Someone had to face him."

Leinad smiles at his wife. "I know, as much as I was worried about you I'll admit I'm impressed. I trained you well."

"Better than anyone else, so was there ever any doubt." Tess jokes and lightly punches Alex's shoulder. "Let's go find Audric, hopefully we can finish things up quickly."

"They pretty much are finished but yes let's go find him."

Leinad and Tess approach Audric who's tending to a Knight with an injured shoulder. "Do we know the casualty numbers yet friend?"

Audric shakes his head, not looking up from his work. "Not yet, we lost several knights in this battle. Quite a few have been injured. But most of our losses are from the Shadow Warriors. They didn't listen to Marcus' warning."

"I know, I saw a Shadow Warrior kill a Knight. They will be missed and honored." Leinad sighs. "But the battle was a success."

"Yes, thanks to Marcus." Audric says with a slight smile. "Not only did his plan work perfectly but his fighting spirit carried the Knights onward. I'm glad he was here, no doubt the Knights will look up to him after this battle."

Leinad looks across the field to see Marcus walking through the carnage, unfazed by all of it, he's seen MUCH worse. As Marcus walks through the field nearby Noble Knights applaud him. Leinad can't help but smile watching the same knights that were terrified of Marcus a week ago are now cheering his name. Marcus appears to not know what to do, looking around from Knight to Knight. It's going to take Marcus a while to get used to it.

"Marcus must be feeling a little confused and disappointed right now." Tess says.

"What do you mean by that?" Leinad asks.

"Well, with the Dragon bandits defeated Marcus doesn't really have a known purpose or goal now. He must be wondering what he's going to do now."

Leinad smiles as he wraps an arm around "You're partially right Tess." Leinad replies as he wraps an arm around Tess' shoulder. "With the Dragon Bandits defeated Marcus' current purpose is over. But the real purpose the King has planned for Marcus is just beginning."

To be continued.

* * *

The Dragon Bandits defeated, and the two Shadow Warriors are dead. Marcus made a name for himself in the battle and has earned a place in Chessington. But things are far from over with Marcus, what does the King have planned for him.

Lately, I've noticed that some of the people reading this story haven't read either The Kingdom Series or the Knights of Arrethtrae. I know that makes this story hard to understand. So, in this author's note, though it'll be difficult for me, I'm going to explain what happened in The Kingdom Series in minor details books 1 (Kingdom's Dawn) and book 2 (Kingdom's Hope) so no one is left behind.

Book 1: Kingdom's Dawn  
The story begins with Leinad living in the village of Mankin with his father, Peyton, his mother died when he was young. Leinad spent his young life on the farm but found it weird that Peyton taught him how to use a sword, and quite effectively too. Peyton also taught Leinad to have a heart for the King. Leinad enjoyed the quiet farm life.  
On one of their trips to the nearby village Mankin, Peyton and Leinad stopped by the Blacksmith's shop, where a giant of a man named Gabrik worked, making the village's tools but was also a skilled swordsmith. Leinad spotted a magnificent sword that Gabrik had finished who told him that the sword was made for the one who serves the King. Leinad didn't understand what that meant. During the visit to town Leinad came across a dirty slave girl named Tess. Peyton took pity on her and bought Tess' freedom from her owner. Though Tess was worried she'd still be a slave Peyton showed her love and quickly won her heart as did Leinad. Tess moved in with them and become Leinad's adopted sister. It was rough at first because Tess had trouble adjusting to her life, but she loved it.  
During one of their lessons Peyton explained to Leinad the truth of his past. Long before Leinad was born, Peyton and his wife were chosen by the King to govern the new Kingdom of Arrethtrae (representation of Earth) when the King was in his kingdom across the sea (representation of Heaven). There the King ruled his kingdom in absolute paradise. But because the King was gone often Peyton governed Arrethtrae in his absence. It was peaceful until one day a man showed up at the castle while the King was away, saying he was a man from a distant land and brought gifts. The King had told Peyton not to let anyone into the castle while He was gone, but Peyton's wife lusted the gifts, so Peyton let the man in (Adam and Eve eating of the forbidden fruit). What they didn't know is that across the sea a rebellion had taken place, led by the King's former general Lucius (Lucifer rebels against God). That night, the mysterious man, revealing himself as Lucius, the Dark Knight, pillages the castle, sparing only Peyton and his wife. Lucius wanted them to suffer the King's wraith because they failed him. Out of fear, they hide in the woods hoping the King wouldn't find them (Adam and Eve hide from God). But the King found and forgave them in his own way. Since then Peyton has been living in Mankin (God punishing Adam and Eve).  
The next day, Leinad is hunting in the woods when he is attacked by bandits led by a man named Zane. They were planning on attacking a nearby farm. While the others left Zane stayed behind and gave Leinad a fighting chance. They dueled aggressively but Leinad scared Zane's face and ran back to his farm. But when Leinad arrived the farm was under attack by the same bandits being led by Lucius himself. Leinad rushed to help but Gabrik, revealing himself to be a powerful warrior in the Kong's powerful army called Silent Warriors, appeared and stopped him. Leinad could only watch as Lucius killed Peyton. Devastated, Leinad waited till they were gone and rushed into the burning house to save Tess.  
After Peyton died Gabrik explained that Leinad had two older brothers, one of the named Zane (the man he faced in the woods). Peyton raised the boys to love the King, but Zane's heart refused to, and he was jealous of his twin. So Zane killed him (Cain killing Able) and the King banished him, but the Dark Knight took him explaining the story, Gabrik gave Leinad his sword, the magnificent one he'd been working on, and told them to run to the mountains, for an insect known as the Vactor Draug (the flood and Noah's ark) that devours everything in its path was on its way.  
Leinad and Tess obeyed and rode to Mankin to warn the people who were celebrating a wedding and were too drunk to listen, no one heeded their warning and they alone escaped into the mountains as the Vactors completely destroyed Mankin and the surrounding area.  
Though they had escaped Leinad and Tess were alone in the mountains and after days both were on the verge of collapse. That's when a mysterious stranger showed up, giving them food and water to continue. The man told them not to lose hope and to go to a nearby village (God talking to Abraham).  
After resting and eating Leinad and Tess arrive at the village where they get jobs working on a staying in the village for a while a group of slave traders showed up and the other workers tied up Leinad and sold him to them (Joseph being sold into slavery) Leinad was taken as a slave to Lord Fairos, a powerful but brutal warlord, to work. The work was hard and brutal as Lord Fairos was harsh on his slaves. A short time later, another slave caravan arrived, this time Tess is among them. Tess explained that the village was attacked, and she was caught by slavers. Though overjoyed they worked hard together, Leinad teaching Tess manners and how to speak properly and proper manners.  
Fairos, being a talented sword fighter, constantly wanted new competition to test his skill. So, frequently he would have his guards bring him slaves to fight who often died. Today Leinad was choosing along with a man named Quinn. Fairos made quick work of Quinn, injuring him, but Leinad proved to be a challenge. Though Leinad eventually lost the fight Fairos was impressed and appointed him to train his soldiers in guards (Joseph making a name for himself in Egypt and becoming Pharaoh's adviser). Leinad effectively trained Fairos men into a powerful fighting force.  
One day a peasant arrived to tell Fairos that his village had been attacked and begged him to help. Leinad managed to convince Fairos to go and help. The battle was swift with Fairos winning, saving the villagers. But Leinad knew what was coming and tried to warn the people but it was too late. Fairos enslaved the villagers and when Leinad resisted had him arrested, stripped of his rank, and made a slave again (Israel's enslavement to Egypt).  
Not long after that, Leinad and Tess are slaving away when they see an Overseer bearing a slave. Leinad defends the slave and knocks out the Overseer (Moses killing the Egyptian). Fairos sees it and has Leinad taken out into the Wilderness to die at the hands of the Moshi Beasts (Moses' flew from Egypt). Leinad is tied to tent pegs in the desert and left to die at the hands of the Moshi Beasts. After what feels like forever a small, rat - like creature shows up, at first Leinad thinks it's amusing until he realizes there are dozens of these creatures and they are hungry. Turns out they ARE the Moshi Beasts. Leinad barely manages to free himself, getting dozens of bites, and runs into a nearby stream, turns out these creatures are afraid of water. 

Safe for the time being, Leinad collapses and has a serious doubt of faith in the King, one that doesn't last long. He stays in the stream until morning, hungry, sore, and bleeding, afraid of the Beasts return until he sees someone nearby, the King himself (Moses and the burning bush). Leinad kneels before the King, apologizing for his lack of faith. The King graciously accepts because he's been waiting for him to find his purpose and heals Leinad's wounds. Once Leinad is healed the King tells Leinad that he has a great purpose for him and starts training him. In the desert, the King spends months training Leinad's mind, body, and heart, bringing his fighting skills to a level not seen in Arrethtrae. Once the King finishes training Leinad He Knights him and tells him to free the people from Lord Fairos, for he has chosen these people to be his chosen people (as Israel is with God).

Book 2: Kingdom's Hope  
After spending months with the King, Leinad, with new purpose, arrives at Lord Fairos' castle as a knight and orders him to release his slaves. Fairos mocks him until Leinad challenges him to a duel on the castle's drawbridge (Moses ordering Pharaoh to let the slaves go). Leinad defeats Fairos with ease but doesn't kill him, instead challenges him to another duel tomorrow. As a response Fairos orders the overseers to double the slave's workload (God hardening Pharaoh's heart).  
Tess, from amongst the slaves, sees the duel and once it's over runs to Leinad only for an overseer to attack her. Leinad rescues Tess and takes her into the wilderness to heal her. That night Tess tries to convince Leinad not to face Fairos again tomorrow but Leinad knows that he can't simply walk away from something the King trained him for. Despite Tess being worried about him she agrees with him.  
The next day, Leinad and Tess arrive at Fairos' castle and Leinad challenges Fairos to a duel again. Despite Fairos, rage, Leinad defeats him again. Leinad has now beaten the most feared man in the region twice, significantly destroying his pride. As a result, Fairos orders the overseers to ration the slaves' food. At this point the slaves are starting to hate Leinad. Despite this Leinad challenge Fairos again (The plagues of Egypt).  
The next day, Leinad arrives at the castle again only for Fairos to aggressive attack him without warning. Though Fairos' anger catches Leinad off guard the duel is definitely Leinad's. But Leinad senses someone sneaking up behind him and jumps out of the way, only to see that it's Fairos' sun trying to kill him. Fairos' son thrusts at Leinad only to miss and run into his father's blade, killing him (the firstborn children of Egypt dying). Full of grief Fairos orders the slaves to be let go (Pharaoh finally letting the Jews go). Leinad, knowing that eventually Fairos' grief will turn to rage, leads the people as quickly and far away as possible.  
During the exodus Leinad comes to rely heavily on Audric and Quinn. After a short time, they come to a gorge only to see Fairos and his army chasing them. Leinad leads them into the gorge and notices Silent Warriors on top of the cliffs with trumpets. Once the people are through the Silent Warriors blow their trumpets and the walls collapse on Fairos' army, killing them all (Moses and the Jews crossing the sea).  
Shortly after that the people are complaining, still stuck on the gorge and running low of food (the Jews complaining in the wilderness). Leinad and Tess venture ahead and find the King waiting for them. Tess, exhausted, can't go any further so Leinad tends to her than goes up ahead to see the King. There the King gives the Leinad the Code and tells him where to lead the people (God giving Moses the 10 Commandments). When Leinad and Tess arrive back to the people they find them fighting amongst each other. Many of the people don't want to follow the King as the path they have to follow appears to be treacherous and suicide. The people split up, the majority follow Leinad while the others go down a path that appears to be easier, only to never been heard from again.  
Leinad lead the people to Chessington Valley where the people settled down and built the great city of Chessington. To protect the people Leinad trained a force of knights called the Knights of the King. During that time Chessington flourished as Leinad guided th _e_ people in the Code. As time progressed Leinad began to see Tess not as his adopted sister but as a beautiful woman, but Leinad was too shy to act on his feelings. Tess managed to convince Leinad to teach her how to fight and as a result her skills with the sword were better than anyone in Chessington, except Leinad's.  
But over time the people wanted someone to rule them, someone who lived among them. Even though Leinad and Tess tried to stop it the people persisted. In frustration, Leinad rode out of Chessington to think only to find Gabrik with a message from the King. The King has heard the people's demands and agrees to give them a Lord/governor, Quinn (Saul becoming King of the Jews). The people were happy for they liked Quinn, he was a good leader. So, Quinn became the lord of Chessington and brought about a time of peace and prosperity not seen in years.  
The glory days of Quinn lasted awhile until he started courting a nearby Lady Moradiah. Moradiah was lovely and her ways were enticing, but against the Code that Leinad had worked so hard to teach the people, but only a few people besides Leinad, Tess, and Audric see it (the fall of the Kings of Israel). Before long, Quinn and Moradiah are engaged and arranged a massive party. But at the party some of Moradiah's knight's insult Tess and Leinad calls them out and Moradiah in front of everyone that everything Moradiah stands for is against the King and that Quinn shouldn't marry her. Quinn doesn't listen and Moradiah is insulted. Leinad, wanting to prove that the King's ways are better challenges Moradiah's best knights (Elijah challenging the prophets of Baal).  
The next day, in front of all Chessington, Leinad arrives in the square with Tess and Audric backing him. Leinad convinces them to stay on the sidelines, he must do this alone, and they are very hesitant to allow it. Leinad fought Moradiah's knights one at time, easily defeating them. But as the duel's continued it was becoming evident that Moradiah was getting desperate and had something planned. On the last match three of Moradiah's knight's charged Leinad at once, trying to kill him. But Leinad grabbed another blade and defeated all three of them at once. Despite winning all the challenges Leinad knew that tough times were ahead.  
Soon, after Quinn and Moradiah were married the people became apathetic in their ways, preferring the luxurious lifestyle of Moradiah over the ways of the King and the Code. Leinad and Tess were ridiculed in Chessington to the point where they weren't welcome anymore. Over time Leinad knew that the spirit of the people was too far gone.  
As Leinad is walking the streets when he receives a message from a Silent Warrior. The King has grown tired of the people's hypocritical ways, they've become the very thing they've sworn to protect Chessington from. The Silent Warrior warns Leinad that the Kessons, a massive army led by Kergon, are on their way to raid Chessington. Fighting against them is futile, so the Silent Warrior recommends surrendering, Kergon shows mercy to those who surrender. And because the people have dishonored they're vows to the King they will be ruled by the Kesson's for 72 weeks (the Jews getting conqured by Babylon). Leinad heads to warn Quinn who doesn't take his advice, instead plans to fight them. As Quinn lead to prepare for battle Moradiah has Leinad and Tess arrested. Throughout most of the battle Leinad and Tess are in the prison until a stable boy sets them free. They make it out in time to get to Quinn only to see the city falling and find out that Moradiah was killed in the battle. But Leinad and Tess don't make it in time to save Quinn who dies in battle. With Quinn dead, Leinad is approached by Lord Kergon and surrenders to him, so the massacre of Chessington will stop. Kergon shows mercy immediately, not wanting to needlessly waste lives.  
The Kergons take the people to their capital city where Leinad is assigned to the palace. After some time Leinad is roaming the city streets when he sees Tess, who is currently a servant of a noblewoman. They spend the day together hoping to be free and return to Chessington someday.  
After nearly a year Kergon decided he had conquered enough to make himself king of Arrethtrae. So, he decided to have a coronation and every knee in his city must bow when the trumpet blew, and all did except for Leinad, Tess, and Audric (Shadrach, Mishach, and Abednego being thrown into the furnace, not sure how to spell their names, sorry). Kergon gave them the chance again to bow but they refused. So, he tossed them outside of the wall that bordered a forest known to be occupied by creatures called Dragamoths, and they were unarmed. As the creatures approached the same mysterious stranger who had helped Leinad and Tess years ago after the destruction of Mankin, appeared and fought alongside them. Together they defeated the Dragomoths and impressed Kergon who made them his advisors.  
Not long after that Leinad is walking a portion of the city wall when he receives a message from a Silent Warrior, tonight an enemy will enter the city and destroy Kergon, if the people don't fight they'll be left alone. The Silent Warrior's message turns out to be true as that night an enemy sneak into the city, defeats the army and kills Kergon. After the siege Leinad approaches the leader who agrees to let the people leave, they weren't seeking slave's, just riches. Just like that the Kessons rule over the people is over.  
Leinad brought the people back to Chessington where they rebuilt it as close to its former glory as possible. This time Leinad was careful in making sure that the people followed the Code. He trained a force called the Noble Knights to protect Chessington. Tess and Audric helped him significantly. Audric accepted being their leader, Leinad not wanting to lead them. During this time Leinad's heart was heavily attracted to Tess, wanting to open his heart to her but not knowing how,  
Despite the peace Leinad still felt like he had a purpose that wasn't being fulfilled, that he had to leave to find it. As Leinad was saying goodbye to Tess, his heart aching, a Silent Warrior messenger showed up saying that Gabrik needed his help and had something for him. Leinad rode to find Gabrik with the Silent Warrior to find himself in the middle between a massive army of Shadow Warriors with Silent Warriors backing him up. He was caught in a war that the majority of Arrethtrae had no clue was happening. Leinad fought gallantly in the battle only for Lucius himself to show up. Thankfully reinforcements of Silent Warriors showed up or the battle would have been lost. After the battle Gabrik met with Leinad and gave him the promise of the King, the sword of the Prince. Leinad is to keep it till the Prince comes to save Arrethtrae. But then Leinad gets bad news, Zane is leading a massive force to attack Chessington. Leinad doesn't hesitate to grab a horse and race back to Chessington.  
Leinad arrives just in time as Zane's forces have descended upon Chessington. The Noble Knights are putting up a brave but futile fight, Tess and Audric fighting in the most intense part. Leinad rushes solo from behind and fights his way to Zane. He defeats Zane but doesn't kill him, needing Zane to order his force to retreat. Zane reluctantly, thanks to Leinad's sword against his throat, orders his forces to retreat. As they retreat Leinad and Tess embrace only for Zane to stab her in the back. Zane then orders his force to resume attacking. As Zane's force rushes towards them again Leinad holds Tess and they confess their love for each other. Suddenly a massive force of Silent Warriors, led by Gabrik, arrive and scare off Zane's forces. Gabrik tries to heal Tess but he can't fully do it. To fully heal Tess, she'll need to be taken across the sea where the life spice plant grows abundantly. As Tess passes out she refuses to go.  
Tess awakens a few days later, healed slightly, and she and Leinad confirm their love for each other. Through much convincing Tess agrees to stay in Arrethtrae until her wounds get the better of her, so she can be with Leinad. Leinad and Tess are shortly married after that

Please leave a review, I want to know what you think and how I can improve the story.

Hope that you are enjoying the story so far. The next chapter will be uploaded as soon as possible.

This is John Storm signing off. Stay Frosty ya'll


	5. Aftermath

Here we go, the next chapter of Sir Marcus the Dragonheart. Had a little trouble figuring out how to start this chapter. Hopefully I did that right, for once.

The beginning section of this chapter was harder for me than the rest for some reason. I couldn't figure out how to properly describe the celebration. I'm sorry for that.

I've decided to do a bit of a side story for now on Zathora, until it becomes part of the main story. I figured that's be an interesting thing to add into the story.

As I'm working on this story I'm also working on My Sangheli Daughter II: Shadow Alliance, so my writing may be a little slow, again.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 5: Aftermath

" _How did I let Tess talk me into this?"_ Marcus groaned as he made his way up the steps to the great hall.

As Marcus walked up the steps his mind races through the past two days. Things had been hectic for him since the battle. Marcus' actions in the battle made him a hero amongst the Noble Knights and people instantly. Apparently, Marcus made quite an impression amongst the people when he killed the Shadow Warrior. It did not work in Marcus' favor as people and Knights had been hounding him nonstop. Marcus could hardly step outside without being swarmed by people. Twice he's had to run because of the people. It's gotten to the point where Marcus had to take the back alleys to go anywhere. Marcus was hoping it would eventually die down, there was a promise he needed to keep, and these people weren't making it easy.

" _Hard to believe these people see me as a hero."_ Marcus sighed to himself. " _Guess it's something I have to get used to."_

Marcus stood at the entrance to the great hall, looking at the big doors, hesitant to go inside. He could hear the celebration going on inside. The chatter of people he barely knew was almost enough to make him turn around, social events were never something he enjoyed. If it wasn't for Tess making him promise to come he certainly wouldn't have. As Marcus reached for the door he couldn't help but think that the celebration was a little inappropriate. Knights died during the battle three days ago, they were buried with honors yesterday. To Marcus, it seemed too soon to be celebrating a victory when they just finished mourning and burying the dead. But, as much as he disagreed with it, a bit of celebration wasn't necessary a bad thing, they needed some time to relax after cleaning up after a battle.

Marcus grabbed the door handle, sighing deeply. " _Might as well get this over with._ "

Marcus opened the door as quietly as possible to find the great hall much more occupied than he thought it'd be. It seemed like all two hundred Knights were in attendance with servants, cooks, guests, musicians, and of course ladies/maidens. People were chatting, mostly about how they participated in the battle, eating, and just having a good time. Many of the Knights were in full garb, Marcus guessed it was to impress the maidens. Marcus didn't blame them though, many of the maidens were beautiful, dressed in fabulous clothing meant to draw attention. They were certainly receiving Marcus' attention. It took a moment for Marcus to look away and mingle, if you call it that, with the guests. Marcus walked around the crowds to avoid being recognized. Since he wasn't wearing his armor or his Zweihander, just his sword, many didn't recognize him. Marcus had also shaved his beard, making himself even less noticeable.

Marcus stayed to the back of the great hall, not wanting to socialize very much. Being around that many people was making Marcus feel a little uncomfortable. That was the first public event/gathering Marcus had ever been too, and he wasn't enjoying it very much. Being around a crowd of people Marcus didn't know wasn't his idea of a good time. It helped that everyone was being friendly to him, not much but it was helping. To make Marcus even more uncomfortable were the women attending the gathering. Word got around quickly amongst the Chessington women about what he did. Apparently, the ladies and maidens of Chessington were drawn to heroes and Knights, and Marcus was both. Marcus could see a group of beautiful maidens standing not far away, looking right at him. They were standing there gossiping and giggling to each other, occasionally shooting glances his way. But, none of them make the move towards him.

Marcus didn't need to be a genius to know that the women were most likely nearly as afraid of him as they were attracted to him. The looks on their faces was evidence of that. Marcus didn't blame them for being afraid of him, given his appearance. The rumors about his savage nature, which were untrue as far as his current mental state was concerned, wasn't helping either. Though it looked like that would change soon, the women talking amongst themselves to apparently see which one would win his heart first. The thought of it scared Marcus more than it excited him, women had always been his weakness. For the moment, Marcus was glad they weren't crowding him, but that would most likely change soon. Marcus wished that everyone else would leave him alone like the women were. Though he understood it's a victory celebration, Marcus wished that the people and Knights would stop hounding him. Everyone wanted to learn from him or ask him for a favor, to the point where it was starting to drive Marcus crazy. If it wasn't for the food, and Tess forcing him, Marcus wouldn't be here.

" _This is the last time I let Tess talk me into something like this._ " Marcus laughed to himself when he realized his thought. " _What am I kidding, that woman can talk me into anything._ "

Suddenly a hand rests on Marcus' shoulder followed by a deep voice. "Nice to see you made it Sir Marcus."

Marcus spun around to see Audric standing behind him. "Audric, don't sneak up on my like that, it's not good for your health."

"You're warning is well understood my friend, I'll try not to approach you from behind again."

"That would be wise. So, is there something you want to say?"

Audric nodded. "Yes, I wanted to thank you for everything you did for us. You're the reason we won the battle."

Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "As much as I'd like to argue with you I have to agree. I hate to brag but it seems to be true. I didn't do anything heroic I think. I just did what felt natural, it was more Instinct than anything."

"Hm, a humble hero who does amazing deeds by instinct, that's not something you see every day."

"I guess that's one way to put it. I don't fight to bring glory to myself but the King. There is nothing more honorable than risking one's life to serve the King and to protect people."

"And we are honored to have you fight alongside us." Audric replied. "To show our appreciation we got something for you. It should help the people see you in a better light."

Audric pulled out a dagger, the hilt encrusted with a Noble Knights symbol. Marcus looked at the dagger confused for a moment. He wasn't a Noble Knight, so why would Audric be given it to him.

"This dagger signifies that you are a friend and a hero to the Noble Knights. The people will treat you better if you wear this." Audric explained as he handed the dagger to Marcus. "You wear it and the people may treat you like a savior or something."

"Thank you Audric, I appreciate the gift." Marcus replied as he hooked the dagger on his right side.

"How about an invitation to join the Noble Knights as well?"

"I'm not sure what to say." Marcus said, contemplating Audric's offer. "As much as I want to accept it, I can't. Joining the Noble Knights is not what the King as planned for me. I'm sorry but I'll have to turn you down. But I'll be more than happy to assist your order if you need me help."

Audric sighed, though he expected Marcus' answer it still disappointed him a little. "Okay Marcus, the order is sorry that you won't join us, but we do understand, the calling of the King far exceeds ours."

Marcus smiled as he extended his hand to Audric. "Thanks for the understanding, most others that have tried to recruit me weren't so happy about my refusal to join. You'd be surprised how many orders have tried to get me to join."

"Probably not, what order wouldn't want a Knight like you."

"True but thank you for the offer. But remember, I'll be around to assist you."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Marcus saw Tess and Leinad standing at the door. He made his way through the crowded hall to them, dodging several casual conversations. People have flocked to him after the battle, something Marcus wasn't used to. It took Marcus longer than he had hoped to make it to them.

"Sorry you two, these people won't stop hounding me." Marcus said once he made it to Leinad and Tess.

"Must be something new for you." Tess said.

"In a way it is. Sure, people would hound me after I saved their village or something similar. I stayed long enough to tell them about the King before I left. But this is completely new to me."

"After everything that's happened to you I can believe it. It'll probably take you a while to get used to be a hero."

"I wouldn't say I'm a hero." Marcus began speaking before Tess interrupted him.

"You are a hero Marcus, there's no question about that. Get over your past and see yourself as a Knight already."

Marcus and Leinad looked at Tess a little shocked that she would be that direct. Tess had been a little less her gentle self lately with Marcus around. Maybe it's his snoring that's kept her up that's made her more aggressive. More than likely, though, it's because Marcus needed someone tough to push him, to pound common sense into him.

"Ok Tess, you got a point, there's no need to argue with you." Marcus replied, surrendering to Tess. "Now I know how Leinad feels."

Leinad couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I've long since given up arguing with her. You can't win against a woman Marcus, trust me on that one. You'll see what I mean soon enough, with all the women that will be flocking to you."

Marcus rolled his eye. "Oh great, as if I need that right now. That's something I'm not used to. Women usually run away from me."

"Don't worry big guy, you got me to help you there." Tess said.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Marcus joked, getting daggers glared at him from Tess. "Uh Tess, Leinad, I hate to ask you, but can I ask you for a favor. I know I got no room to ask you, considering you're letting me live with you temporarily."

Tess nearly broke out laughing. "That is an understatement, you are NOT an easy person to live with."

Marcus shook his head, smiling. "No argument there, I owe you both for taking me in. But I need your help with something."

"What is it?" Leinad asked."

"Well, I need you to help me find Ruth. There's some very important things I really need to discuss with her."

Tess nodded. "Of course, we'll find her."

"Thank you, I promise to pay you back some way."

A dark grin formed on Tess' face. "Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something."

X

"Come on Tess, where are you taking me?" Ruth shouted as she followed close behind Tess.

"I told you Ruth, it's a surprise." Tess answered, a little annoyed that Ruth wouldn't stop asking the same question repeatedly.

Ruth became quiet after that which made Tess a little happy. Tess wasn't very happy when Marcus asked her to find Ruth to begin with. Chessington a big city, so finding one person, particularly an orphan like Ruth, wasn't an easy challenge. Thankfully, Tess knew one of the spots where Ruth frequently visited; the Noble Knight stables. Tess found Ruth wondering around looking for Marcus. It didn't take any convincing for Ruth to agree to come with her.

Tess had to almost fight off several people on the way back to Leinad and her house. People always crowded around her whenever she walked the streets, even more so after a battle. That's why Tess took the long way home around the outskirts of the city. Ruth's anxiousness to get where they're going pushed her faster as well. The trip took so long though, with people interrupting them, that even Ruth started getting annoyed.

"Okay Ruth, we're here." Tess said once they finally made it, Ruth's only responds was a groan.

Tess opened the door and Ruth nearly ran inside when she saw Marcus and Leinad seated inside. Neither of them moved from their seats but looked up from their conversation at them. Marcus smiled and waved at Tess and Ruth to enter.

"Marcus, I'm excited to see you." Ruth shouted.

Marcus smiled. "And I'm happy to see you too. There's a few things I need to talk to you about. Some of them will be hard for you to believe but I need you to hear me out."

Ruth looked at Marcus confused. "Is it about taking me as your squire?"

"We'll get to that, now please have a seat."

Ruth, a little hesitant, sat down in the chair across from Marcus. She looked back and forth between Marcus, Tess, and Leinad; but mostly at Marcus. The look of confusion and concern were evident on Ruth's face. No one said anything for a while to the point where it was becoming awkward.

"Ok, first I want to say thanks for saving us. I just wanted to get that out there." Ruth said, breaking the tension. "So, what is it you want to talk about?"

"Well I didn't save the city alone. I was just fighting to protect the city. The knights that died deserve the real praise." Marcus couldn't help but laugh. "I wanted to ask you Ruth, how much do you know about your father?"

"Why do you ask?" Ruth almost growled. "I only know what my mother told me, which isn't much."

"Because, it'll confirm my suspicions about something." Marcus pointed at Ruth's necklace. "My suspicions come from your necklace."

Ruth looked down at her necklace. "What does my necklace have to do with this?"

"A lot actually. Tell you what, you tell me what you know about your father and I'll tell you what your necklace means and fill in the blanks."

Ruth sighed as she held her necklace. "Ok, I'll tell you what I know, but it's not much."

"That's fine, even a little helps." Marcus replied, laying a comforting hand on Ruth's shoulder. "If it's uncomfortable we don't have to talk about it."

Leinad and Tess looked at each other, not saying a word but understanding what each other meant. Both thought that Marcus was being a little pushy towards Ruth, though he was being polite about it. Marcus probably didn't realize he was being pushy; even if it was just a little. His lack of social skills might push Ruth the wrong way unintentionally. That was why Marcus wanted Leinad and Tess there for the conversation. Both were hoping it wouldn't come to that.

"No, it's fine, I can do it." Ruth replied, closing her eyes, trying to remember what her mother told her about her father. "From what my mother told me, my father was a warrior from the Northern Mountains. She described him as a massive but gentle man. He came to our people when they were under Lord Fairos' rule as a trader."

"Did your mother say what his name was?" Marcus interrupted.

"No, not that I care to ever remember." Ruth sighed. "Lord Fairos was unusually kind to him because he could obtain rare and valuable goods. My mother was given to him to work his stand when he visited. They fell in love immediately, at least that's what my mother told me. It must be true for my mother was pregnant with me not long after that."

"Sounds like they were happy." Tess said.

"According to my mother it was for a very short time. As soon as my father found out mother was pregnant he left her. She never saw him again after that. My mother was devastated, being alone to raise me." Ruth growled softly. "The only thing I have of either of my parents know is this necklace. I don't know why I keep it."

Marcus gently comforted Ruth. "It's ok, you've been through a lot. I wouldn't blame you for throwing your necklace away. Your father was a monster for leaving your mother. But we cannot focus on the past too much or we could miss the future."

"Is that what you think I'm doing?" Ruth shouted angrily at Marcus.

Marcus remained emotionless as Ruth jumped up, glaring angrily at him. Leinad and Tess almost rushed around Marcus and would have if he hadn't raised his hands to stop them. Apparently, Marcus expected Ruth's outburst.

"Yes, that would explain why you're so angry. I understand how your anger feels more than you think. Until I met the King I dwelled on past to the point where it ruled my life. I don't want your past having the same control over you as it did on me."

Ruth lowered her head. "Okay, can you help me move past it?"

Marcus nodded. "I can, but later. I believe I owe you an explanation."

Ruth reluctantly nodded her head. "Okay . . . what do you know?"

"Basically, everything about your father, maybe even who he is." Marcus pointed to Ruth's necklace. "All because of your necklace and the little information you told me."

"I don't understand, how can you know anything from a necklace?"

Marcus smiled. "Well for starters that is a Ranger necklace. All Rangers wore a basic necklace to signify that they belonged to the race."

Ruth gasped. "What are you saying, that my father killed a Ranger and took his necklace?"

Marcus almost face palmed himself. "No, your father had it because he WAS a Ranger. You realize what that makes you?"

Ruth's mouth dropped open as she realized it quickly. "You're saying that I have Ranger blood? I'm half Ranger?"

Marcus nodded. "Yes, you and I are the last two I know of."

Tess laid a hand on Marcus's shoulder from behind. "Are you sure about this Marcus, you could be making a big mistake here?"

Marcus looked at Tess, reached into his shirt, and pulled out a necklace that matched Ruth's exactly. "I think this proves I know what I'm talking about. "

"Yeah, I think it does." Tess replied, stepping back.

Ruth looked at Marcus, barely able to form a sentence. "Are you saying . . . that we're . . . close?"

Marcus smiled. "That is an understatement. We are more than just Rangers."

"Then, what are we?"

Marcus took Ruth's necklace and pointed at the wire shaped trim outlining the circle. "This here, is on all Ranger necklaces. It symbolizes that we belong to the Ranger race in general."

"Ok, so what does the two crossed axes in the middle mean?" Ruth asked.

"That represents the family we're from." Marcus answered with a big smile on his face. "You can probably figure out what that means for the two of us."

It took Ruth a moment to realize what Marcus meant and when she did her mouth dropped open. "Are you saying we're . . . related?"

A big smile formed on Marcus' face as he smiled. "Yes, I am certain of it."

Ruth suddenly turned angry, glaring and growling at Marcus. "ARE YOU MY FATHER?"

Ruth's sudden aggressor caught everyone off guard, even Marcus. Leinad, Tess, and Marcus couldn't see how Ruth could make such an assumption so quickly. They didn't blame her for getting angry over the thought of Marcus being her father.

Marcus suddenly started laughing so hard Tess was worried he'd break a ride. "No, I'm not your father, that's not possible for two good reasons. One, I'm too young to be your father, you're what fourteen?"

Ruth nodded her head. "Yes"

"I'm only twenty-five, when you were born I was only eleven. I'd say that's a pretty good reason." Marcus answered. "Second, I have never . . . been with a woman. That alone makes it impossible for me to be your father."

"What does that mean?"

"I'll tell you when you're older."

Leinad and Tess couldn't help but laugh. The conversation had become funnier than they thought it would. But they both had become quiet, curious as to how the conversation would end.

"Then how close are we?" Ruth asked.

"Me and you . . . we're cousins, our fathers were brothers. I know this from what you told me about your father." Marcus answered. "You said that your father was at Lord Fairos' before you were born, that's around fifteen years ago, if you include your mother's pregnancy and time for your parents to fall in love. Well Lord Zanthos attacked and enslaved the Rangers eighteen years ago. There were none of us roaming at that time, except for my uncle Xavier. Somehow, he managed to escape during the battle; I saw him escape. Given he's the only Ranger that I'm aware of who was roaming the Kingdom at the time, I'm certain he's your father."

For a few moments, Ruth didn't respond, just starred at Marcus in disbelief. In hardly any time, her entire changed. She found out that she's a Ranger, who her father is, and that Marcus is her cousin in one setting. That's a lot for one person to handle in one setting. Even Leinad and Tess were shocked by it.

"Do you think he's alive?"

"I can't say for certain, I haven't seen him in eighteen years." Marcus answered. "If he is and I run into him, I might kill him."

"Not if I run into him first."

Marcus patted Ruth on the back. "We'll see, but we cannot focus on the past. The future is MUCH more important."

"Of course, . . . cousin."

Ruth lunges at Marcus and hugged him, overwhelmed with joy. Marcus was a little taken back and almost fell out of his chair. Leinad and Tess laughed watching Marcus nearly get squeezed to death by Ruth.

"Does this mean you'll take me as your squire?" Ruth asked, not letting up from hugging Marcus.

Marcus smiled down at Ruth. "Yes, but it will not be easy. Are you sure you want this?"

"More than anything, except for having a family, which I have now."

"Then welcome to Knighthood . . . squire."

* * *

Zimmer Castle

Zathora stood on the balcony of her castle overlooking her land. The cool, autumn breeze blew through her white hair as she took in the rebuilding of her domain. Seeing her people thrive in a land that was destroyed a decade ago warms her heart. But, despite the rebuilding and loving people Zathora senses an evil that worried her, she just couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"My Lady, Sir Drax is here to see you."

Zathora turned around to see her lady in waiting standing behind her.

"Thank you, Harley, tell him I'll be there soon."

Harley bowed before Zathora then exited the throne room. Zathora sighed as she walked to her throne and sat down. Every time she's talked to Sir Drax lately had been awkward and harsh to say the least. As Zathora waited for Sir Drax her mind ponders how much has changed in th _e_ last ten years. A lot has happened since Zathora saw the slave Mark kill her father. Despite having witnessed it with her own eyes Zathora never actually blamed Mark for what he did, she saw her father kill his mother and attempt to kill him. Zathora also watched Mark fight brutality in the arena ad her father warped his mind into an almost animal - like state. Mark had every right to be angry, and Zathora knew what a monster her father was. But still the man was her father and he was good to her, even though it was the only good thing he did.

After watching Mark kill her father Zathora fled through the servant area and warned them what was coming. Zathora then led them through a secret passage way to a nearby sanctuary where they waited out the bloodshed. They heard the battle throughout the entire night and waited till it was almost dusk the next day to leave their sanctuary and head back to the castle. What Zathora saw horrified her, the castle was a bloody mess with hundreds of bodies littered all throughout the area. No survivors were found leaving Zathora to believe that everyone, both slave and soldier, had died. With everything lost the servants turned to Zathora for leadership. Being Lord Zanthos' only child she was the rightful heir to the land. It helped that servants loved her, knowing she was nothing like her father. Zathora vowed that she would rebuild the castle and erase her father's rule of tyranny with a reign of compassion, mercy, and justice.

Rebuilding Zimmer Castle was not easy, getting rid of the bodies was the hardest part, many of the dead were people she had known and grown up with. It took weeks to remove the bodies and bury them in a mass grave. Zathora wished she could bury them honorably but to do so for everyone would've been nearly impossible. Next, Zathora had to rebuild and expand the castle, but with less than fifty servants such a task would have been VERY difficult. Fortunately, Zathora has her father's vast wealth, he kept it hidden in a vault under the castle that only three people knew about, Zathora being the only one alive. Zathora hired nearby villages to help her rebuild the castle and brought in several others to farm and provide resources once everything was rebuilt. In little more than three years Zathora had not only rebuilt Zimmer Castle but expanded her rule to the nearby area, far beyond what her father had done.

But just rebuilding the castle and expanding her rule wasn't enough, the area lacked a fighting force. Without a garrison the area was open to attack. Originally, Zathora's plan was to hire mercenaries but she quickly decided against it for they couldn't be trusted, and mercenaries didn't have any honor. Zathora searches desperately for solutions but found none, her only fighting force were servants and villagers armed with hunting equipment with no training or experienced.

For two years Zathora's only protection was secrecy, Zimmer Castle and the surrounding area being surrounded by forests and mountains. But one day a large Knight named Sir Drax arrived, with a large and experienced fighting force, promising to protect her and the area, in exchange for being her adviser. Zathora almost said no because she didn't fully trust Sir Drax, but with a large bandit force approaching she didn't see any choice. Zathora agreed and Sir Drax's force easily defeated the bandits.

Over the next five years Zathora has come to both trust and be suspicious of Sir Drax. He is very good at his job defending the people as the attacks have stopped. However, Zathora found his advice at times absurd and there were rumors that his men were aggressive to the people, especially over the past year. At times Zathora was worried that Sir Drax was trying to slowly remove her and take rule for himself, but she had no proof, and his men have his complete loyalty. Lately, Zathora had been concerned that Sir Drax will place a knife in her back, figuratively and literally, and without anyone to challenge him there'd be nothing and no one to stop him. Having a backup plan might be a good idea in case Sir Drax did try something.

Zathora snaps out of her daydreaming as Sir Drax enters the throne room. "Sir Drax, is there a reason you've come to see me?"

Sir Drax shook his head as he walked up to Zathora's throne. He towered over her and everyone else in region, standing at least seven and a half feet tall and bulging with muscles. His skin was a darker shade than anyone she's ever seen, leading Zathora to believe that he's from a faraway region of Arrethtrae. His black hair flows down past his shoulders is well kept as his beard. Sir Drax's heavy, black armor adds to his menacing size, Zathora knows it's made of a very strong metal making it nearly impossible to penetrate. A large, gruesome sword hangs by his side, it's appearance matching Sir Drax's impressive skill.

"My lady, you should know by now not to address me in such a way."

Zathora glares at Sir Drax. "And you should know how to talk to your Lord. Now, why are you here?"

"Because there's something important I need to discuss with you."

Zathora rolls her eyes. "No Sir Drax, you CANNOT march our men against Polton, we have no reason to attack them."

Zathora had to restrain herself from screaming at Sir Drax. For at least a year, Sir Drax had advised marching his force on the nearly castle Polton. Polton had been a rival of Zimmer since her father controlled the area. Though they never had a direct fight it was clear Polton had thought about war in the past. Polton was a prominent farming community with a small fighting force. It controlled the river allowing shipments and trade into Zimmer. Two years ago, Zathora had negotiated the Lord of Polton into allowing trade into her region. But Sir Drax wanted to match his men on Polton, eliminating the middle men and expanding Zathora's, thus his, power. Though Zathora knew Sir Drax could easily capture Polton she didn't want to shed unnecessary blood to do so.

"As much as I'd like to do that my Lady that is not why I'm here. There's something else we need to address. And no, it doesn't involve attacking anyone."

"That's a first, your advice ALWAYS involves attacking someone. So, what is it then?"

"The future of your rule and my men. I know you're aware of this, but the future of your land and the safety of your people depends on my men."

"Yes, I am fully aware of that." Zathora said with a hint of hostility. "I know that your men are not fond of me. I've heard them say I'm too soft."

"That's an understatement my Lady. For the sake of our relationship I won't say anything the men have told me."

Zathora rises from her throne glaring daggers at Sir Drax. "What relationship? You and I are not in a relationship or anything resembling that, nor do I desire anything like that . . . especially with you."

"That's too bad my Lady, we could bring the people and my men together easily. Imagine it, a land where villagers and warriors get along peacefully. You and I can make this happen, together we can establish a strong and peaceful land."

Zathora pondered Sir Drax's words. What he said is partially true, villagers and Sir Drax's man working together would be perfect. But, after observing Sir Drax's men herself Zathora saw that the last thing they want to do is help the people. They were loyal only to Sir Drax and would probably turn against the people with ease if he ordered it. To make things worse, Zathora not only didn't trust Sir Drax she also hated the thought of being married to him. But she also knew that if she said no Sir Drax might turn against her and destroy the people. Though Zathora's main concern was that Sir Drax was referring to marriage between her and him. The very thought of being married to Sir Drax sent shivers down her spine, she despised him to say the least. Zathora knew she had to approach this strategically.

Zathora shook her head. "Give me time to consider your offer. I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

Zathora's answer didn't seem to satisfy Sir Drax as he angrily crossed his arms. "I'd advise you make your decision quickly. You know how short my patience is."

Zathora glared at Sir Drax, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing his threat scare her. "You may leave now Sir Drax. I'd advise you do so before I lose my temper."

"As you wish my Lady." Sir Drax strangely smiles as he turned to exit the throne only to stop at the door and look over his shoulder at Zathora. "Oh, there is something that you should remember my lady. Whoever controls the army rules the land. So, if I were you I'd think twice before trying anything against me."

To be continued.

* * *

With the battle for Chessington over Marcus is now happily welcomed and held as hero. But Marcus still feels empty and unsure of himself, not knowing what the future holds for him. Marcus has revealed that he and Ruth are cousins and has taken her under his tutorage. Can Marcus teach her? Meanwhile, on the other side of Arrethtrae, Zathora is encountering troubles of her own. What is Sir Drax's end game?

Please leave a review, I want to know what you think and how I can improve the story.

Hope that you are enjoying the story so far. The next chapter will be uploaded as soon as possible.

This is John Storm signing off. Stay Frosty ya'll


	6. Duel of Two Masters

Here we go, finally, the next chapter of The Knights of Arrethtrae: Sir Marcus the Dragonheart. Sorry for the wait, I'm going as fast as I can. 

Thought if it would be cool to include a duel between Marcus and Leinad in this chapter. The best Arrethtraen swordsman in both The Kingdom Series and The Knights of Arrethtrae vs. Sir Marcus the Dragonheart. Who will win? Find out in this chapter.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 6: Duel of the Masters

Leinad and Tess walked around the outskirts of Chessington, headed to Marcus' new house. The route took them to the outskirts of Chessington, right by the sea. The view from there was quite memorizing, with anyone being able to see for miles across the sea. The house was more like a log cabin sitting on a beach with no other structures nearby. It's big enough for Marcus and Ruth but not much else, and the area around it was perfect for training. Tess thought it suited Marcus perfectly, and he agreed with her, took almost no convincing to get him and Ruth to move in.

"Finding Marcus this place sure was nice of you." Leinad said as they arrived.

"I owe him for saving me, and he needed a place of his own."

"Are you saying that because his snoring kept you up at night?"

Tess shrugged her shoulders. "That and he's a hard person to live with. Add Ruth to the mix and it's nearly impossible."

"Maybe he needs a woman to settle him down."

"I've been looking for a good match for Marcus. No luck so far, but I'm not about to give up. I know there's a woman somewhere in Arrethtrae that's a match for him."

Leinad and Tess round the corner to see Marcus training with Ruth. Marcus built a nice training arena for him and Ruth in a week and it was certainly getting tested. Marcus and Ruth were sparring with real weapons, Marcus was using his sword while Ruth wielded an axe. Watching it, even from a distance, made Tess nervous. Seeing an inexperienced fighter swinging a sharp axe around at her friend, even though it's for training purposes, was a little unnerving. As Leinad and Tess got closer they could make out how easily Marcus was sparring with Ruth. Marcus was only defending against Ruth's attacks, apparently testing her abilities. For someone so young Ruth was throwing good attacks, but they lacked precision, and many were wild; Marcus had no trouble blocking every one of her moves. Despite being obviously outclassed Ruth was relentless, attacking Marcus trying to wear him down.

"Ruth's better than I thought she'd be." Leinad said.

"Well she has observed the Noble Knights for years now. Of course, she'll have some skill." Tess added.

Ruth suddenly stepped to the right crossing her legs, a big mistake. Marcus saw it and rushed forward, pushing his sword into Ruth's handle. The force of the impact pushes Ruth backwards, making her trip over her own feet. Ruth landed hard on the ground, losing the grip on her axe. Before Ruth can recover Marcus was standing over her, if it had been a real fight Marcus could finish her off without any hinderance.

"You're doing good Ruth, but you keep making the same mistake with your footing." Marcus said as he helped Ruth up. "I keep telling you to step with your outside foot, not crossing your legs like you're doing."

"I know that, you don't have to keep telling me." Ruth shouted angrily at Marcus.

"Apparently, I do, otherwise you would stop making that mistake. You seem to have trouble listening to somethings I say."

"No, I don't, I'm getting it."

Marcus crossed his arms glaring at Ruth, it was clear he was getting frustrated. "No, you're not at all. You keep making the same mistake no matter how many times I tell you."

"That's because it's hard, my body doesn't want to do it."

Marcus lowered his head, taking a deep breath to calm down. "Ok, let's try something different. We're not going to do anymore sparring until you understand foot work."

"WHAT, that's not fair."

Leinad stepped up to the side of the ring, waving his arms to get Ruth and Marcus' attention. "Ruth, you need to understand that you need to master the basics first before you start swinging a blade. And from what I've seen, your basic footwork is lacking. Do you understand Ruth?"

Ruth wanted to shout but stopped herself. "Yes, I understand Leinad."

Marcus smiled at Leinad. "Thanks for backing me up. I was starting to get a little frustrated."

"I could see that, good thing we showed up at the right time. You're doing good for a first-time teacher. It's hard to teach a teenager, especially a stubborn one."

"Hey, I'm right here Leinad." Ruth shouted.

"That's why I said it." Leinad replied with a smirk.

"You remind me of myself when I was your age, just with more anger." Tess said then turned to Marcus. "You have to be methodical with Ruth, when she doesn't understand something walk her through it. She's so stubborn that when she doesn't get something she'll keep the mistake instead of heading your advice."

"Thanks Tess, I'll definitely use that." Marcus replied.

"It would help if he trained me with a sword instead of an axe as well." Ruth said in a huff, turning towards Marcus. "When are you going to train me with the sword Marcus?"

"Eventually, but first you need to master the axe."

"Why do I need to learn how to wield an axe, it's not a good weapon compared to a sword? It's hard to use." Ruth complained.

Marcus shook his head. "Give me your axe."

Ruth hesitated for a moment before handing Marcus her axe. Marcus took a step back then swung Ruth's axe in circles with one hand. With little effort, Marcus was able to spin Ruth's axe around his body in incredible precision. The axe moved with such expert and fluid movement that it was almost a blur. The look on Ruth's face was priceless as Marcus stopped.

"With training and strength an ace can be wielded just as easily and precisely as a sword." Marcus said with a smile. "Ok, but that's just your strength, someone smaller than you shouldn't be able to wield an axe that easily." Ruth replied,

Marcus smiled as he tossed the axe to Leinad who caught it easily. In an instant, Leinad began spinning the axe almost as fast and precisely as Marcus had. Leinad only spun the axe for a moment, not wanting to show off as he had proven Marcus' point.

"Do you really think the King and my father only taught me to use swords?" Leinad said as a handed the axe back to Ruth. "That would've really limited my skill range if the only weapon I knew how to use was a sword. The King taught me, and I'm certain Marcus to, how to use practically every weapon imaginable."

"The King was very thorough in that training." Marcus added. "The sword and the axe are my best weapons."

"I get that but why spend so much time teaching me how to swing an axe when a sword is so much better?"

The glares Ruth received from Marcus, Leinad, Tess, and Audric were shock and disbelief. Though they could understand Ruth's naive statement, the fact that she said it so confidently stunned them. Ruth had a habit speaking her mind without a filter, something that she needed to break. "That is one of the dumbest statements I've ever heard Ruth." Marcus almost shouted. "It's a common misconception Ruth is that axes are actually more useful than swords, especially against armor. Swords work perfectly against opponents with little to no armor, even leather armor. However, against metal armor a sword is all but useless, unless you can get a precise hit in a weak spot."

"Really, huh, I never thought about that." Ruth said, looking down at the axe in her hand.

"You see Ruth, the best weapons against metal armor, especially steel plate, are blunt and weighted weapons. Maces work best against heavy armor because of the blunt force trauma they inflect, even if a person is wearing padding a mace to the head is going to do damage, an axe relies on a similar concept, the weighted end gives the blade additional impact when it hits. That also allows it to do more damage, usually, than a sword." Marcus continued, grabbing Ruth's axe. "Something else to consider is that it's easier to train someone to use an axe than a sword, the movements and techniques are more straightforward. Plus, you seem more of an axe wielder to me than a sword wielder."

"But what it really comes down to is the skill of the person wielding the weapon." Leinad added. "Each weapon has its own advantages and disadvantages, it's in the hands of the user to determine how good the weapon really is."

"Oh, so you're not going to teach me how to use a sword?"

"I will eventually, but I think it'd be more efficient to teach you how to wield a weapon you're used to first."

Ruth nodded as she took her axe back from Marcus. "Ok, I guess I can live with that. Besides, you're a good teacher so far, most of the time."

Marcus smirked. "Well you are my first student, so I'm mostly just following how the King taught me. I don't have anywhere near the patience the King has so that'll make things interesting."

"We could only hope to have the patience that the King has." Leinad added.

"That is an understatement my friend." Marcus replied as he turned to face Leinad. "The King had the patience to not only train my body but to fix my mind, no one else could've done such a thing. I was with the King for a year and never once did I see him mad, I think that speaks for the patience, determination, and ability for the King."

"Amen to that my friend." Leinad said. "No if you only have the patience to train Ruth. I can say from experience that training someone is no easy task."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that you've trained the entire Noble Knight force and Tess. You should be teaching Ruth, not me." Marcus replied, getting a gasp from Ruth.

Leinad shook his head. "I don't think so, your experience with anger makes you a better teacher for her. If anyone can teach you to control her anger it's you."

"Unless I get angry first, then we'll get nowhere."

Leinad patted Marcus on the shoulder. "That's why I'm here to help you."

"I appreciate that, I'll definitely need it with her."

"I'm standing right here." Ruth growled at Marcus.

Tess walked up behind Ruth. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll think of something go get back at him."

"That's not hard to do." Ruth smiled back at Tess. "I'm just glad to finally have a teacher."

"And you got a good one too. I'm sure Marcus will be a good teacher to you."

"Well, Leinad is definitely the better teacher, due to his experience. But I think that in a fight Marcus would beat Leinad."

Marchs, Tess, Leinad, and Audric starred at Ruth shocked that she would say such a thing. Ruth was known for her outbursts but that was different, on a new level. The adults were having trouble wrapping their minds to why Ruth would even want Marcus and Leinad to fight. No doubt she's curious to find out who's better but might be encouraging them to fight so she could find out once and for all.

"Uh Ruth, don't you think that is a little, well . . . a biased opinion." Tess said.

Ruth shrugged her shoulders. "I know, but I think that Marcus would win in a fight."

Everyone looked between Marcus and Leinad until Tess spoke. "And what makes you think that?"

Ruth thought about it for a moment before responding. "Well, Marcus' size, strength, and experience seem like pretty good reasons to me. Just look at Marcus, he's much taller and stronger than Leinad, that has to play a major role."

Marcus couldn't help but smile. "Yes Ruth, it would, strength plays a big role in a fight. But you must consider that Leinad's more agile than I am, so it balances out."

"Whose side are you on?" Ruth shouted.

"Hey, I'm just giving the facts here. I more curious to hear what you have to say."

Ruth shook her head. "But what about your battlefield experience and the time you spent fighting in Lord Zanthos' arena, that should be a big factor as well. You have ALOT more experience fighting than Leinad does. That's just how I see it, and why I think Marcus is better. He's been fighting almost nonstop ever since he trained with the King, while Leinad's, not saying this in a bad way, had other more important things to take care, guiding us."

"Hard to argue with that Leinad replied. "But we'll see if that really matters after this."

"We won't find out if we keep talking." Marcus said with a devious smile. "You want to find out once and for all who's the better swordfighter?"

Leinad smiled back. "I'd be happy to defeat you Marcus."

Leinad's reply caught Marcus a little off guard. "Really, I figured you'd refuse or just say yes. You must really want to see which one of us is better."

"No, I'm just really curious. The King trained us both personally, as a result there's no Arrethtraen better than us. The only real challenges are from Shadow Warriors, and those fights always end in death." Leinad answered as he stood up. "I'm interested in a professional duel with someone that can really challenge me, so I can see where I stand."

Tess spun around, glaring at Leinad. "Are you saying I don't challenge you? You know there's no better sword in Chessington that mine, excluding you and Marcus."

Marcus, Ruth, and Audric stepped back, afraid of Tess' outburst and the possible results if Leinad answered wrong. Even Marcus, despite his lack of social skills, knew how deeply Leinad might've dug his own grave. Though Marcus knew he was stronger than Tess she had such a fiery spirit that she scared him sometimes.

Leinad gulped as Tess stood right in front of him. "Yes, my love, you are a challenge for me, there is no questioning that. I was just saying that even though you're a highly skilled sword fighter you were not trained by the King like Marcus and I were. Realistically speaking, that puts our skills at a higher level than, well . . . pretty much everyone. You know that I have the highest respect for your skills."

Tess didn't take her eyes off Leinad and remained silent for so long that everyone else was getting nervous, until she smiled. "I know you do. I just wanted to hear your reason."

Leinad let out a sigh of relief. "You could've just asked politely instead of scaring me."

"That wouldn't had been as fun." Tess smirked as everyone else relaxed, realizing she was joking. "But seriously, you'd better not get hurt."

"I won't, Marcus and I are professionals."

Tess turned to Marcus. "You'd better be, I'd hate to be you if anything happens to my Leinad.

Marcus nodded, hiding his fear well. "I promise I won't hurt him too badly."

"You'd better not, or you'll have me to answer too." Tess replied, then turned to Leinad. "Let's take this some place where we won't be disturbed."

X

Tess, Audric, and Ruth stood at the edge of the arena, watching and waiting Leinad and Marcus to start the duel. The tension and anticipation were high in the air that day as two of the greatest sword masters in Arrethtrae were about to face off. Ruth was practically bouncing up and down with excitement, seeing her two heroes about to duel. Audric remained stoic as usual, even though on the inside he was almost as excited as Ruth to see the duel. Tess, though she kept a cool outer appearance, was nearly trembling with fear. She was worried about Leinad facing such an aggressive opponent, especially if Marcus lost control and fought like he did in the battle against the Dragon bandits. Tess was glad they didn't invite anyone else to watch the duel and were doing it a good distance from Chessington, otherwise it would've been too chaotic for them to fight.

"Are you sure you want to do this Marcus?" Leinad said as he drew his sword.

Marcus nodded as he drew his sword and threw it blade first into the ground. "Yes, you can't tell me you're not curious which one of us is the better swordsman."

Leinad smiled, though puzzled why Marcus would throw his sword into the ground. "I can't argue with that. Hopefully you can keep up."

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you." Marcus added as he pulled off his shirt, revealing a multitude of scars, and tossed it aside.

Tess and Ruth gasped at the sight of Marcus' nearly disfigured body. Dozens of scars covered his chest, back, and arms, a few appeared as if they were almost fatal. The years of fighting and slavery were evident just glancing at his body. But beneath the scars was a very muscular body.

"Why did you take your shirt off?" Leinad asked.

"I don't want anything hindering my movement." Marcus answered. "Now you see why I keep my body covered as much as possible."

"Otherwise those scars would scar the children, and any woman interested in you." Audric shouted jokingly.

"If it wasn't for the scars he'd be fighting off the ladies." Tess added, getting stares from everyone. "Just saying, he's very handsome of you look past the scars. No offense Leinad."

"None taken hun. So, are we going to get started or not?"

Marcus and Leinad stood a few feet apart as Marcus took an offensive stance while Leinad took a defensive stance. Tess, Ruth, and Audric fell silent as the two warriors started circling each other, waiting for one to make the first move. After watching each other in the battle against the Dragon bandits, and during training, both felt like they knew each other's fighting style well. They analyzed each other's techniques, strengths, and weaknesses from previous observations, formulating strategies to win. Marcus knew that Leinad preferred defensive tactics, allowing his opponent to attack and manipulating him into making a mistake or attacking when he saw an opening. It made Leinad a difficult opponent to attack, allowing him to control the end game. But Leinad also possessed great offensive skills, his speed being incredibly difficult to block, even for a skilled opponent. Marcus would have to think of a way to break Leinad's defense quickly, brute force alone wouldn't be enough as Leinad's strategical mind easily works around such techniques. Meanwhile, Leinad knew that Marcus' skills primarily were offensive, relying on his incredible strength and precision, allowing him to unless powerful and precise blows. Marcus' strength made him a very tough opponent to defend against as his blows were often so powerful that even blocking them would be painful, Leinad saw swords break against his strength in the battle. But, underneath Marcus' strength also lied a battle hardened, tactician, and precision. Marcus showed that he can quickly and easily switch between offense and defense and do so with extreme fluidity. Just defending wouldn't be enough to defeat Marcus, his strength and stamina made that nearly impossible, forcing Leinad to think of new strategies.

Marcus suddenly lunged forward, swinging his sword over his head and bringing it down on Leinad. Leinad raises his sword to block with the flat of his blade just in time, Marcus blow was quicker than he thought it would be. Marcus's downward cut had so much power that when it connected to Leinad's blade it felt like a horse had just slammed into his arm. Leinad was forced to his knee as he tried to stop Marcus' blade. At the last instant Leinad rolled to the left avoiding his own blade colliding into his forehead from a Marcus' attack.

" _Whoa, too many blows like that and my arm may shatter."_ Leinad thought as he recovered from Marcus' wild swing. " _No way he's being that reckless on purpose right from the start, he must be testing my strength."_

Leinad stood up as Marcus swung again faster but just as powerful from the right. Instead of straight blocking Leinad brought up his blade and twisted as Marcus' blade made contact, pushing his blade back; making an opening to strike. Leinad thrusted at Marcus' abdomen only for Marcus to jump to the side. Leinad recovered just in time to avoid a vertical cut.

"You almost got me there." Marcus said as he regained his stance.

"You aren't making it easy. Your strength is almost too much. And I know you're holding back, testing my abilities."

"As you have been doing to me. So, I guess it's time to hold nothing back."

Marcus rushed forward with onslaught of attacks against Leinad. Leinad found himself defending against incredibly fast, powerful, and precise attacks. The attacks Leinad found himself defending against were a whole new level than his previous moves. It took everything Leinad had to block Marcus' attacks. Each time Leinad blocked the impact sent intense vibrations through his arms, hurting his arms and hands. It felt like Marcus was pounding his arms with a large hammer. To make things harder for Leinad the blows were incredibly advanced movements and fast, making them very hard to block. Leinad found himself moving back and around to avoid Marcus' blows.

" _I can't keep blocking his attacks, they're too powerful."_ Leinad thought as he jumped back, barely avoiding Marcus' attack. " _All I can do right now is dodge."_

Leinad changed his style from strictly blocking to maneuvering himself around Marcus and his attacks. Facing Marcus directly wasn't a valid option if Leinad hoped to defeat him. Leinad began trying to maneuver around Marcus' attacks, changing positions to create an opening. Being quick on his feet allowed Leinad to dodge Marcus' attacks and position himself for his own. At first Marcus had trouble defending Leinad's agile attacks but he caught on quickly and was able to adjust his movements to block Leinad's attack. In a moment the fight revolved around Leinad and Marcus switching back and forth between attack and defense.

As the fight pressed on Leinad began noticing that despite constantly being on the offensive Marcus somehow appeared to have hardly lost any stamina. He looked a little tired but nowhere near as much as Leinad felt. Leinad was gasping for breath shock Marcus was only sweating. Apparently, Marcus' extensive battlefield experience was paying off.

" _How is Marcus not exhausted?"_ Leinad thought as he rolled again barely avoiding another cut from Marcus. " _He must be trying to wear me out, waiting to I make a mistake. Given his stamina he doesn't have to wait much longer. I'll have to think of something to offset the difference in strength and stamina and end it quickly."_

Out of the corner of his eye Leinad saw a small rock sticking out of the ground. Getting Marcus towards it wouldn't be easy but it's not like Leinad had much of a choice in the fight. It was the best strategy Leinad could think of with a large man attacking him relentlessly.

Marcus swung a powerful cut at Leinad, expecting him to block it, instead Leinad stepped in and blocked the cut near the base of his sword. Leinad's sudden block caught Marcus off guard and nearly blew Leinad's sword out of his hands. He took advantage of situation quickly, using all his strength to push Marcus back. In an instant Leinad unleashed a volley of attacks on Marcus. At first Marcus had trouble defending against Leinad's sudden attacks until he realized that Leinad's strength was depleted, making his strikes slower and slightly less precise; but enough to give Marcus a little trouble defending against him, pushing him back.

" _One more push."_ Leinad thought as he swung his sword as hard as he could into Marcus' blade,

The blow pushed Marcus back, his right foot catching the rock. Marcus fell backwards landing hard on the ground. Before Marcus could recover Leinad was standing over him, his sword pointed at his chest.

"What just happened?" Ruth shouted.

"Leinad just won, barely." Tess said smiling.

"But it shouldn't count, Marcus tripped over a rock."

"After Leinad pushed him onto it. You see Ruth, what it really comes down to is who can use what's around them better and take advantage of it and opportunities to win." Tess explained. "In this instance that is clearly Leinad."

Marcus smiled as Leinad lowered his blade. "Well Leinad . . ." Marcus panted as he stood up. ". . . you won. I'm honored to lose against such a skilled opponent."

Leinad nodded as he fell to his knees trying to catch his breath. "You didn't . . . make it easy . . . Marcus."

Tess and Ruth ran to Leinad and Marcus to help them. Tess ran to Leinad's side, quickly checking him for injuries; other than a black eye and some minor bruises Leinad was fine. Ruth ran to Marcus but stopped when he stood back up.

"That was amazing Marcus." Ruth shouted.

"That's an understatement Ruth. We'll probably never see anything like that again." Audric added.

"Amazing but incredibly dangerous. Tess almost screamed at Ruth. "You two took that way too far, one of you morons could've gotten hurt."

"Sorry Tess . . . I got carried away." Marcus apologized. "I wanted there to be . . . no doubt who is better. Don't worry, I was holding back a little . . . so neither of us got hurt."

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better." Tess replies, shaking her head. "At least you two won't try anything like this any time soon."

Marcus and Leinad both nodded to Tess. After that intense fight neither of them wanted to duel each other again. The look on Tess' face was enough for neither of them to want to duel again.

"How are you not as worn out as Leinad, Marcus?" Ruth asked.

"One of the benefits of training with the King. It's also the only ben _e_ fit from fighting in Lord Zanthos' arena. You either had to develop ALOT of stamina and endurance or die in the arena." Marcus answered. "Something I hope you never have to experience."

"Then how do you expect me to get as strong as you?"

A devilish smile formed on Marcus' face. "You'll see Ruth, you'll see."

"Ok, that's a little disturbing." Ruth shuttered before smiling again. "You don't mind that you lost Marcus?"

Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "Of course not, Leinad bet me fair and square. It's an honor to lose to such a skilled and honorable swordsman."

Leinad smiled, gasping for breath. "You should . . . be proud . . . or your skill to. No one has . . . challenged me like that . . . in a long time."

Tess approached Leinad and patted him on the back. "Are you going to be hun?"

"I'll be fine Tess, just need to catch my breath." Leinad gasped, straightening up. "I'm just glad I didn't fight you hand to hand. No doubt I would've lost."

Marcus laughed as he stood up to his full height, towering over Leinad. "Smart move, you would be unconscious in a matter second."

Leinad wasn't about to argue with Marcus. The man's strength and size far exceeded Leinad's. Combine that with Marcus' experience in Lord Zanthos' fighting arena and he would be a formidable opponent when it comes to unarmed combat. Leinad knew Marcus would toss him around like a rag doll if they ever got into a fist fight. As far as their skills were concerned Leinad was a little better then Marcus in a sword fight, but in some fist fight Marcus' skills far exceeded Leinad's. Combined, the two of them were a formidable force, thanks to the King's training. Any enemy that challenged them would regret it,

* * *

Zimmer Castle

Zathora looked out over the valley from her balcony, watching the sunset as her people returned to their homes after a long day. Normally watching her people go about their daily lives would brighten her day, Zathora enjoyed seeing her people happy and safe, they were never this happy under her father's rule and they loved her for making their lives peaceful and prosperous. But, seeing her people happy from her balcony that day did not put a smile on her face. Zathora's mind wouldn't let her focus on her people, the words Sir Drax spoke to her recently still haunting her. His words wouldn't leave her mind, making her sick to her stomach. It took everything Zathora had to hide her fear from her people. Zathora desperately needed to vent but was afraid that doing so could cause a panic.

"Lord Zathora, is there something bothering you?"

Zathora switched back and forth between looking out across the mountains and at Harley. She wanted to avoid telling Harley what was bothering her but the thought of doing so might put her in danger slowed her down. Telling Harley, even though she has a reputation for keeping secrets, might not be the best idea, especially if it gets out, it could cause a panic. But, Zathora needed to tell someone, the worry was eating her alive.

Zathora sighed, as much as she wanted to push Harley away she needed someone to talk to. "Harley . . . what I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room, do you understand?"

Harley nodded reluctantly. "Yes, my Lady, I understand. What's bothering you?"

"Sir Drax, as usual, but much worse."

"What could be worse than his usual aggression and advances towards you?"

Zathora lowered her head. "Him asking for my hand in marriage."

If Zathora hadn't been feeling so depressed and concerned she would've busted a gut laughing at Harley's reaction. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes looked like they were about to bug out of her. The words that Zathora spoke seemed to be register with Harley. Harley was so shocked that she couldn't speak, appearing to be frozen. After a few moments Zathora began contemplating slapping Harley to snap her out of it.

"Is this a joke my Lady?" Harley finally said.

"I wish it was, but unfortunately it's not. He came into the throne room a week ago and started talking about how our union would benefit my reign. It was a long rant, but I got the basics of what he was saying. To sum it up, he said that our marriage would be beneficial, mostly for him and his men cause as my husband he'd be ruler of this land with no one telling him what to do. I couldn't believe what I was hearing from him."

"I'm having a hard time believing it myself my Lady. I fail to see his logic in asking for your hand."

"It's actually quite simple Harley, and it's a similar reason why I've refused every suitor who's approached me. They are only pursuing me for my fortune and land and get the boot every time." Zathora replied, fighting back a smile before frowning again. "I know Sir Drax wants the same, but he wants the power this land could give me. He already has tremendous power, having control of his men, but he doesn't have complete control of the area, I stand in his way. So, to get complete control he'll either force me to be his wife . . . or eliminate me. Either way, the results are not good for me."

"That's, well . . . a lot to take in my Lady." Harley said, trying to think of a good response. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, so much relies on what I do and say to him. If I say the wrong thing I'm afraid Sir Drax will do something dark. "

"Are you really that worried about what he'll do to you?" Harley asked.

"Yes, but I'm more worried about what he'll do to the people if I refuse or upset him."

"What is it you think he'll do if you refuse his proposal?"

"That's what scares me, I don't know how far he'll go. Sir Drax has a dark side that s scares me. At best, I'm afraid he'll kill me and use force to make the people submit to him."

Zathora heard a gasp from Harley. "He wouldn't dare do something like that."

"Why wouldn't he? No one could stop him, he has all the warriors loyal to him. It wouldn't be hard for him to do it. Though I fear something far worse is more likely?"

"I'm afraid to ask my Lady but what is it?"

Zathora looked over her shoulder at Harley and answered with a heavy heart. "That Sir Drax will kill every one of my people he can reach, just to prove his point. To prevent that I will do whatever it takes to keep my people safe, even if it means something I really don't want to do."

"You really care about the people don't you my Lady?"

Zathora turned to Harley with a serious look. "Of course, I do, these people mean more to me than my life. Without me they'd have nothing, no one to guide or protect them. To give them what they need to survive I'll do anything, even if I don't like it."

"My Lady, you truly are a rarity of a ruler. I've never heard of another lord that had such a love for their people as you do."

"Not like it's doing my people any good." Zathora said as she hung her head. "What good does my love for my people do if I cannot protect them from a threat like Sir Drax?"

Zathora turned back towards the balcony before Harley could answer. Harley could see Zathora's frustration and depression on the issue. Zathora's concern for her people's safety was clearly eating at her conscience. Hiding her concern from her people was only making it worse for Zathora, even though Zathora was very good at hiding her feelings. Seeing Zathora like that was starting to worry Harley.

"What are you going to do my Lady? Sir Drax is capable of so much it's scary to think about what he'll do to the people."

Zathora sighed. "I don't know Harley, but I got to think of something quick, before Sir Drax loses his patience."

"Oh yes my Lady, I fear what he may do to you if he loses his temper."

Zathora looked out from her balcony, observing her people as they go about their daily lives unaware of the darkness that looms over them. "No Harley, I fear what may happen to my people more than what Sir Drax may do to me."

To be continued.

* * *

Marcus has begun to train Ruth but is finding her even more stubborn than he is. After an intense duel, Leinad has shown that he is a better swordsman than Marcus, but not by much. Meanwhile, Zanthos is worried about what Sir Drax might do to her people is she refuses his proposal.

I know it's surprising, for a writer to have his OC loss against a canon character. Well, I thought that'd be something interesting and new. Hope ya'll enjoyed the chapter.

Please leave a review. I honestly want to know what you think of the story and how I can improve it.

Hope that you are enjoying the story so far. The next chapter will be uploaded as soon as possible.

This is John Storm signing off. Star Frosty ya'll.


	7. Failed Courtship

Here we go, the next chapter of The Knights of Arrethtrae: Sir Marcus the Dragonheart. Glad I still got the inspiration for this story, I'm getting close to main part of the story, well main storyline. It should be obvious what the main storyline for the story is in this chapter. 

Had some trouble writing the start of this chapter, Marcus' date with Maria. Well it's more like a courtship than a date. Given I've never really been on a real date it was hard for me to write. I hope I did it right for ya'll, doubtful though.

For those of you that haven't read "The Kingdom Series" or "The Knights of Arrethtrae" series by Chuck Black, it may seem strange how Marcus, Leinad, and Tess talk about the King. It's because both series are Christian fiction and in both the King is a representation of God. They're speaking about following the King the same way we Christians follow God.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 7: Failed Courtship

Chessington gardens, 3 months later

"Are you enjoying yourself Maria?" Marcus asked as he walked through the gardens with Maria by his side.

"Of course, who wouldn't enjoy a stroll through the gardens with the hero of Chessington."

"I'm not a hero Maria, I'm just a man that fought to protect your city."

"Oh no, you're so much more than that." Maria replied lightly pushing Marcus on the shoulder. "You are the dream guy, every maid and lady in the city wants you. That makes me the luckiest lady in Chessington tonight."

"Uh, I don't know about that Maria, but I have enjoyed our time together so far."

"Of course, you have, you're spending the evening with me. You're a lucky man, not many can say they got to spend the evening with someone as beautiful as me."

Marcus sighed as Maria took his hand and walked beside him up the bridge. He felt uncomfortable holding Maria's hand, having just met her that evening. The fact that Maria never shut up the entire evening, and barely allowed him to speak, wasn't helping either.

"Quite a beautiful moon we got out tonight." Marcus said, looking up at the full moon, shining bright over Chessington.

"M _e_ h, it's alright I guess, it's beautiful it's in own way. But why would you want to look at the moon when you could look at me?"

Marcus turned his head, observing Maria's beauty. Marie was indeed quite beautiful; the perfect hourglass figure with long, black hair, blue eyes, and elegant face. The blue dress she was wearing certainly looked tight in all the right areas, getting Marcus 'attention. It took a lot of restraint for Marcus to keep his lust in check, something he had a feeling Maria wanted to see let loose.

"Well, you are beautiful Maria, no argument there, but I appreciate beauty in other things as well. Everything has beauty to it in its own way." Marcus said.

"I suppose you're right Marcus, but why look to other things for beauty when I'm standing right here?"

 _Tess, you are never going to hear the end of this._

Earlier in the day, after Marcus had complete his training session with Ruth, Tess approached him saying that she might have found him a woman. Turned out Tess had kept her word, despite Marcus having completely forgotten about it, to find him a woman to court. Marcus didn't believe Tess till she told him it was her friend Maria, the daughter of a merchant, the woman who was constantly regarded as one of the most beautiful women in the city. Tess told Marcus to meet Maria in the market square at sunset, which he did. Marcus was immediately awestruck the moment he saw Maria waiting for him, wearing a very exquisite dress, looking very beautiful.

"I must say Marcus, you clean up nicely, I never imagined such a brutal warrior as yourself could look so nice." Maria said, squeezing Marcus' hand and rubbing his shoulder.

"I'll take that a compliment I guess. I tried to look good for you."

"Well, you could look better, you still look like a savage. Cut that long hair, shave your shaggy beard off, and clean up that smell and you might be good enough to be seen with me in public."

Comments like that were starting to annoy Marcus. It wouldn't have been so bad if it Maria wasn't constantly talking down to him while she lifted herself up, despite it being subtle. It had been that way the entire evening, since their date started. Maria and Marcus walked the outskirts of Chessington talking, well Maria did most of the talking about herself. Maria talked nonstop about herself, in a subtle egotistical manner that Marcus wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been paying attention.

"So, Maria, why did you agree to walk with me this evening?" Marcus asked.

"Simple, who wouldn't want to be courted by the hero of Chessington? My friends will fall head over heels when they hear about this."

"Surely there has to be more than that?"

"Why would there be, you're famous, I'm beautiful, that's all there needs to be." Maria replied.

"Please tell me you're joking?"

"I'm not joking Marcus, all we need is our love and looks. Sure, your looks need some fixing, but you got my looks to keep you interested."

Marcus rubbed the back of his head. "Ok? You're not making any sense."

"You don't need to understand it right now, we'll work that out later."

"Later? This is getting too confusing for me."

"I'm not surprised, I've heard the rumor about you being a savage animal at one point in your life. I'm sure my beauty can fix that."

Marcus frowned at Maria. "And how would your beauty fix that, only the King can do such a thing."

"The King can't fix everything, and why would you want King when you got me?"

"Maria, I owe the King everything. He fixed me when no one else could. No one could or was even willing to try."

"Please Marcus, stop talking about the King, that's all you've talked about this evening. You should be focused on me." Maria interrupted. "All of your attention should be focused on me, not some king. Besides, we got so much planning to do Marcus."

"Planning, about what?"

"Our future together, oh my I got so much planned."

 _Maria's definitely beautiful, but her selfish attitude leaves much to be desired. I don't think I can take much more of this._

". . . you're going to love what I got planned for us. Together, we can acquire such wealth that in time we might even be controlling Chessington. Oh my, me, the most beautiful woman around, giving commands to merchants and gallant Knights."

"Yeah, that sounds good to me." Marcus replies as enthusiastically as he could.

"So glad you agree Marcus." Maria giggled. "Now let me tell you about my plans for the shop."

Marcus looked at Maria, his ears drowning out her constant chattering, she just wouldn't stop talking about herself. The first time Marcus laid his eyes on her he was in awe of her beauty, almost as beautiful as Zathora the last time he saw her ten years ago. But, after spending the evening with Maria, Marcus could hardly find her attractive anymore. Her selfish, arrogant attitude made it nearly impossible for him to see her as beautiful. As the night progressed Marcus found himself liking Maria less and less till he could hardly stand her voice. At that point in the evening, Marcus already knew how he wanted their relationship to go.

Marcus held up his hand, somehow getting Maria to stop talking. "I'm sorry Maria, I don't think this is going to work out."

Maria looked at Marcus confused for a moment, then suddenly started laughing. "You had me going there Marcus, as if any man would say no to me. That's a good joke."

Marcus sighed. "It's not a joke Maria, I don't want to court you."

"Wh . . . what, you cannot be serious. Why would anyone not want to court such a beautiful woman like me?"

"Because I can't be with someone who only cares about herself."

"Excuse me, how can you say such a thing?" Maria shouted at Marcus. "You barely even know me, you savage, we just met this evening and you're already passing judgement? What kind of a man are you that you can judge someone like that?"

"A man who is very good at observing people and things, I don't miss much. The King taught me how to observe and learn just about everything about a person. I can learn nearly anything about a person quickly, just by watching them and listening how they talk. Leinad can do it as well." Marcus explained calmly. "From what I've observed, the only person that matters to you is yourself. While you are gorgeous on the outside, on the inside you are a very ugly person."

" _I probably shouldn't have said that."_

Marcus stepped back as Maria's face turned red, looking like she was about to scream like a banshee. Marie looked like her anger was building up so much that Marcus thought she would explode or pass out. Marcus took a step back, afraid that Maria might attack him.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY SUCH A THING? DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO I AM? YOU, A SAVAGE, SHOULD BE KNEELING, BEGGING TO BEHOLD MY BEAUTY."

Marcus tried to remain as calm as possible, despite his ears ringing from Maria's screeching voice. She screamed at him so loudly that Marcus would've been surprised if all of Chessington hadn't heard it. The rant she went on only made it worse, solidifying Marcus' opinion of her. Marcus wanted desperately to shout back and tell her off, but he knew it wouldn't be a good idea. Yelling at Maria would only have made things worse, something Marcus wanted to avoid. Instead of taking the easy route, Marcus decided to take the high road and just end the night as calmly as he could.

"I'm sorry I said that Maria, didn't think it through, but it is true." Marcus said trying to calm Maria down, but it didn't seem to work. "I'm just going to go before things get worse. I had a nice time with you, goodnight."

Without hesitating, Marcus turned around and walked away, wanting to get as far away from Maria as possible. Marcus almost ran he was so terrified of Maria's response. The nearest place from the bridge was Leinad and Tess' house and Marcus wanted to get there as soon as possible.

X

"I am so sorry Marcus, I didn't know Maria was like that." Tess apologized as she sat down next to Marcus.

"I thought the same thing when you introduced us. You saw how taken I was by her beauty."

Tess tried not to smirk. "Of course, you were practically drooling, thankfully I slapped you in the head before she saw you."

"I don't think it would've mattered if she had seen it or not. If she had then most likely I wouldn't have a bad evening."

"True, would've made things easier for the both of us."

After leaving Maria on the bridge Marcus headed straight to Leinad and Tess' house. Tess met him at the door, apparently, Leinad was sleeping, she listened to everything Marcus said. She wanted to know every detail, thinking Marcus' night with Maria went great, but it was quickly clear she was mortified by her mistake.

"Who would've thought such a beautiful woman could have such an ugly personality." Marcus said.

"You'd be surprised Marcus, some of the most beautiful women have the ugliest attitudes. Apparently, Maria was one who was good at hiding it."

"Yeah, it was subtle to the point where I almost didn't realize it. Thankfully, I followed my head instead of my heart on this one, otherwise I might have married her. That marriages wouldn't have lasted long."

"Definitely, marriage based on looks and lust never work out. Thankfully, you noticed what I somehow didn't. I'll never look at Maria the same way again after what you told me."

"Not sure how you didn't see it but don't worry about it." Marcus sighed, looking down at his hands. "At least I realized it before it was too late."

"Oh yes, certainly makes me feel better but I still feel bad about it."

"Hey, we all make mistakes, myself included. You're mistake was trying to set me up with a beautiful woman. I could've told you that wouldn't work out."

"Please Marcus, don't think like that. Any woman would be lucky to have you."

Marcus sighed. "I doubt it as I got to find her first."

"Don't worry Marcus, I'm sure there's a woman out there for you."

"I doubt it Tess, women don't want a savage like me."

"Excuse me?" Tess blurted out. "Marcus, you need to stop doubting yourself, especially when it comes to women. You are a man any woman would be lucky to have. You are not savage, even though you kind of look like one. Just get yourself some confidence and maybe shave a little and the women would be lining up to court you."

"Surely it can't be that simple Tess. Then again, I've had very little experience with women, so I can't really argue." Marcus said. "But why do I need confidence at all, you've seen me on the battlefield, I definitely don't lack confidence?"

"Confidence with woman and the battlefield are two completely different things. While I've never seen anyone braver than you on the battlefield, with women you're a coward."

Marcus laughed. "I'm not going to argue with that. But I got to ask Tess, why are you trying to set me up with someone? Seems to be a lot of effort for you to accomplish something that's highly unlikely to succeed."

"Because you need someone in your life to love you, and to straighten you out, make you civilized." Tess joked, not bothering to hide her laugh.

"I'm not that bad Tess."

Tess glared at Marcus, putting her hands on her hips, starring him down. Marcus knew right away that he should've kept his mouth shut.

"You're not an easy person to live with Marcus, and that's a huge understatement." Tess nearly shouted at Marcus. "It'll take a special kind of woman to put up with you."

"Hm, Ruth said the same thing a couple days ago, after she woke me up to stop my snoring."

"I don't blame her one bit; your snoring is beyond annoying. I couldn't sleep when you were living with us."

"And I'm sorry for that Tess, I'll make it up to you for that." Marcus replied. "Is there another reason you're trying to set me up?"

"Because, after everything you've been through you deserve a woman that loves you for you. I'd like for you to have what Leinad has with me."

"What do you mean exactly?"

"Simple, a woman who supports you through everything. Who is your rock in hardships and comfort in good times."? Tess explainers. "That's what I am to Leinad, besides a Knight who's fought with him through so much hardship. I'm the one who erases all doubts, stays by his side through everything, and we have been through ALOT. I believe you need a woman like that by your side."

Marcus smiled. "It would be nice if I could find someone like that. Unfortunately, I have never met a woman like that, besides you of course."

"Don't give up, Marcus, the perfect woman for you is out there, I know that much. You just have to find her."

Marcus stood up and walked to the window, looking out over the Chessington. The moon shined bright in the sky, illuminating the city before Marcus. It was indeed a beautiful and peaceful sight for Marcus to behold. Though as much as Marcus looked across the city, something felt amiss, as if he didn't belong there. Sure, the Silent Warrior brought a message that Marchs was supposed to go there, but it didn't feel like home, as if his purpose lied someplace else and Chessington was just a stop in his life's journey. All Marcus could think to do was keep on the road the King had set out for him and trust that someday he'd discover what he was meant to do.

"I think it's best it I don't focus on finding a woman right now. I got other things to worry about, like training Ruth." Marcus said, keeping his gaze over Chessington. "I also have to figure out what the King wants from me."

"Isn't that why you came to Chessington in the first place?" Tess asked.

"Yes, because a Silent Warrior told me that my purpose would be revealed here. I thought it would be revealed immediately, turns out I was wrong big time. Finding a woman for me might be a waste of time, I doubt there is a woman for me, and if it's even possible for me to settle down."

Tess sighed heavily. "I've heard you say that many times before Marcus, there's someone for everyone. The problem is finding the right one, I'm not sure if that woman exists in Chessington though."

"As long as you don't set me up anymore I'm good."

"That was one-time thing Marcus, you can't say no after one attempt."

"We'll see, but please, don't attempt it again, I don't think I can handle another woman like Maria." Marcus replied. "As if I could settle down any way."

"You may change your mind once you find the right woman."

"That's not the point I'm trying to make Tess. I'm saying that I've been traveling and fighting for so long that settling down may be impossible. I'd probably go crazy if I did."

Tess smirked. "I can see that, you seem to have a hard time sitting still whenever I see you."

"That's because, besides my enslavement under Lord Zanthos, this is the longest I've stayed in one place."

"Ah, that makes sense. Maybe having Ruth around will help there. Having a wife would also help."

Marcus glared at Tess. "You're not going to drop it are you?"

"Probably not?" Tess sarcastically replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, I don't think that's a good idea right now. I need to focus on discovering what the King's purpose for me is." Marcus responded, then sighed. "Though at times it seems like the King is never going to tell me what He has planned. The King seems silent when I need him sometimes."

"You're having a crisis of faith, aren't you?" Leinad asked as he walked into the room.

"How much did you overhear?" Marcus asked.

"About half of what you said. I kind of figured your evening would go like that."

"Really, you knew about her and you said nothing?" Marcus growled.

"I thought you'd straighten her out. Turns out I was wrong, my bad." Leinad apologized. "Are you having doubts lately?"

"Doubts about what?"

Leinad crossed his arms, glaring at Marcus. "Your faith in the King Marcus, that's what concerns me. Listen, we've all doubted the King at some point, even me. But the King NEVER doubts or leaves us."

Marcus grinned. "I know, I've never questioned that."

"Then what is it?"

"I wish I knew, that's the problem." Marcus answered. "I came to Chessington to find out what the King had planned for me. I've been waiting for answers to that question for five years. I guess I'm just getting tired of waiting."

"That's perfectly understandable Marcus. Many people want to know why they exist, I was one of them. The King revealed it to me at the right time." Leinad replied. "From what I overheard it sounded like you were starting to doubt the King, Marcus, which is understandable at times as long as we never lose faith in Him."

"After everything I've been through, and being with the King personally, there's not a force that can turn me away from the King."

Leinad smiled slightly. "Even though I've only known you a short time, I can see that your heart and determination for the King truly are unbreakable. I've seen very few Knights like you, even amongst the Noble Knights."

"That's because so few have spent time with the King. Other than me and you have anyone else here been with the King?"

"You mean actually spend time with the King, or just seen Him?"

Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "Either one works."

"As far as I know it's just you and me."

Tess jumped up. "Hey, I was there with you in the canyons when the King gave you the Code. I wasn't actually beside you at that moment, but I saw the King. That was more than enough for me to never doubt him."

"Oh, sorry Tess, I forgot about that, my bad hun." Leinad apologized getting an eye roll from Tess.

"Ok? That was more than I needed to see." Marcus said cautiously. "What's hard for me is that after all this time I still don't know what the King has planned for me. I've traveled all across Arrethtrae fighting Shadow Warriors and other dark forces without doubting the King. Many lands in the Kingdom are now safe because I've risked everything for them, even though all I have is my life. Thanks to the King I was able to overcome my pain, sometimes I thought wasn't possible. But, despite all that, I still feel like something's missing, my destiny, which I know is here, just haven't found it yet."

Leinad and Tess looked back and forth between each other. To them, Marcus' current anguished sounded very similar to what Leinad went through a couple years ago. They knew exactly what he was going through but addressing it might have to be a little different.

Leinad laid a hand in Marcus' shoulder. "I went through the same thing a couple years ago Marcus. After everything I've done for the King I still felt incomplete at the time. I didn't know what the King wanted, and I was desperate the find out. Fortunately, the answer came unexpectedly, and I've been complete ever since, and having been married to the most beautiful woman in the kingdom helps quite a bit." Tess blushed at Leinad's comment of her. "My advice is to be patient. I waited for years, endured many trials and pain. But, eventually, I learned my true purpose. You will too in time."

"I hope so my friend, I've spent the last five years of my life serving the King, wouldn't change that for anything. I'll wait till the end of time if I have to for the King." Marcus replied. "At least I hope I do, I don't seem to have your patience sometimes."

"Especially when it comes to dealing with people." Tess added.

Leinad laughed. "That's why we're here Marcus, to keep you from snapping and going on a rampage."

"Very funny you two. I doubt that'll ever happen, but with some of the people around here I've met, I wouldn't say it's not impossible. Thankfully the King spent a lot of time on controlling my anger."

"Good thing He did, after dueling with you, and seeing you on the battlefield, I'd hate to be on your bad side." Leinad said.

"You're not the first person to say that." Marcus replied. "You got the King to thank for that. That's one of many reasons why I've never considered betraying the King."

"Good, just don't give up searching for your purpose, you will find it someday."

"I know Leinad, I don't plan to ever stop searching, though I wish the King would just tell me what it is." Marcus responded with a sigh.

"Me too Marcus, or as cryptic." Leinad added, trying not to laugh. "But we can't comprehend the King's reasons, no matter how hard we try."

"You're right, it's foolish to even try. I guess I'll just keep looking and hope my purpose is revealed soon." Marcus replied, then let out a yawn. " Well, I got to go home and get some rest, tomorrow's a big day for Ruth and I."

"You are taking Ruth for a training session?" Tess asked.

"In a way yes, she thinks it's for combat training." Marcus answered. "But really, it's more of a physiological and mental test."

"That should be interesting to watch." Leinad nearly smirked. "I don't see Ruth responding very well to that."

"Neither do I Leinad, but Ruth needs to learn more about the King at some point. That's what we're going to do."

"I wish you the best of luck Marcus." Leinad replied, patting Marcus on the shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed."

"Alright Leinad, goodnight my friends." Marcus replied, then walked out the door without saying another word.

Tess remained at the door for a moment, watching Marcus leave. " _I sincerely hope that man can find someone, he deserves a woman that can love him."_

* * *

Zimmerman Castle

The mid - afternoon sun hit Zathora on the back as she held her bow by her side. Her target stood staggering two hundred feet away, the wind blowing wildly from the right, making the shot even more difficult. Zathora didn't look worried as she notched an arrow onto her bowstring and took an archer's stance. She drew back her bow slowly, drawing it back to full strength. Once the bow is fully drawn she aimed the tip at the red center of her target, taking deep breaths to steady her aim. As carefully as she could, Zathora released the string, giving the arrow a straight and accurate flight to its target. The arrow hit the bullseye dead center, nearly the splitting the arrow beside. Zathora silently grunted to herself, she was trying to split the arrow but missed by so little the arrows were touching, still impressive for an exceptional archer.

"Nice shot my Lady." Harley shouted as she brought Zathora another quiver of arrows.

"Thank you, Harley, you sure you don't want me to teach you?"

"No thanks, my Lady, I'd probably end up injuring myself."

"Never know till you try." Zathora replied with a smirk. "Took me years to get this good."

"I know, I was there when you first picked up a bow. It's amazing how far you've come. I bet there's not a better archer in all Arrethtrae."

Zathora laughed quietly to herself. "That's nearly impossible to say, but I'd guess I'm near the top. Might as well keep practicing, you can never get too good at something."

Zathora notched another arrow only to see a something she didn't want to approaching her out of the corner of her eye. She turned around to see Sir Drax entering the range with six of his men, all are well armed. Their faces are covered by their helmets, even Sir Drax, making it impossible for Zathora to tell what their intentions are. Seeing them approach brought a dark fear on Zathora, but she remained calm and collected, not allowing her fear to show.

"What do you want Sir Drax?" Zathora shouted, keeping the arrow notched but not drawing it back.

Zathora didn't take her eyes off of Sir Drax and his men. She had made a habit long ago to make sure to keep an eye on everyone she considered a threat, and at that moment Sir Drax and his men were certainly threats, despite not making any threating moves, yet. Much to Zathora's fear, Sir Drax's men fanned out, positioning themselves in a semi - circle around her. She had seen this performed before by her father on people before he had them assassinated. They were cutting off her escape and positioning themselves to strike, it was only a question of time.

"Lady Zathora, I've come to address a matter of the upmost importance with you." Sir Drax shouted in a menacing voice. "It's been six months since my proposal. I know you've been stalling for time, trying to think of ways to get rid of me that will spare your people."

Zathora looked down at the ground, both annoyed and terrified. She knew the moment would eventually come but didn't think that Sir Drax would be that direct, to offer her marriage or death. What Sir Drax said was true, she had been stalling, expertly at that, to find a way out of her predicament. Zathora had little success finding other options; ones that wouldn't get her people killed. At one-point Zathora has considered agreeing to marry Sir Drax so her people would be safe. But, she quickly realized that wouldn't work either, being her husband would mean that Zathora couldn't control Sir Drax's actions towards her people. It would only make things worse than they already were for her people and meant Zathora would have to "share a bed" with that monster, something she was not about to do.

Zathora sighed, knowing she had one answer. "My answer is no, I will never marry a monster like you."

Sir Drax shook his head in disappointment. "Such a shame, you could've made a most beautiful wife, instead, you chose to die. That truly is disappointing, I had so many plans for the two of us."

The dark, evil grin from Sir Drax that followed sent shivers down Zathora's spine, she knew full well what he meant involved the bedroom. The thought of her and Sir Drax made Zathora gag. Zathora quickly pushed the thought out of her mind, it wasn't a good time to vomit, not with near certain death peering down at her.

"No Drax, what's disappointing is that I turned to you for help. I never should've done that." Zathora growled back, tightening her grip on her bow. "Time for me to correct that mistake."

Zathora didn't hesitate, as soon as she finished speaking she raised her bow up and drew the string back. Taking a quick deep breath, Zathora steadied her bow and aimed for the eye holes in Sir Drax's helmet, knowing that was her only valid target on the monster. She released the arrow as subtly as she could, allowing the arrow to fly straight and true toward its target.

 _There, that should end this monsters threat._

As the arrow neared Sir Drax's eye the impossible happened right before Zathora. Sir Drax turned his head. Instead of piercing his eye, the arrow hit the side of Sir Drax's helmet, shattering as it hit. The impact, which would've at least stunned, if not knocked out, most people, barely did anything to Sir Drax, he barely reacted to it.

Sir Drax grinned under his helmet upon seeing the shocked look of Zathora and Harley. "Were you really expecting that to work?"

Zathora mentally slapped herself for being so stupid, she's seen arrows bounce off of Sir Drax's armor. She thought things would turn out differently if she aimed for the eyes. If only she had considered Sir Drax's quick movement and him expecting him to attempt.

As Sir Drax approached her Zathora noticed the wooden platforms over Sir Drax and his men. Looking closer, she saw a weakness in the beams; one of the ropes appeared to be holding the entire thing up. Taking out the rope could cause the platform to collapse, right on Sir Drax and his men.

"This will not be my end Drax." Zathora growled.

Before Sir Drax could laugh Zathora drew back her bow and aimed at the rope supporting the platform. Knowing she didn't have the time to concentrate Zathora aimed as best she could at the knot and released. The arrow flew straight and true, hitting the knot, severing the rope supporting the platform. Almost immediately, the platform collapsed under its own weight, right towards Sir Drax in his men. Not wanting to wait around, despite the satisfaction she'd get from seeing Sir Drax and his men in pain, Zathora spun on her toes and took off running to the forest. Zathora heard the crash and scream of wounded men, it was tempting to turn around and watch, and hope that Sir Drax was crushed even though she knew it wasn't likely.

"We need to move Harley." Zathora shouted as she grabbed Harley's arm and pulled her into the forest.

At first, Harley resisted Zathora's tugging, until she realized the gravity of the situation. As soon as she did Harley took off running beside Zathora, surprisingly keeping up with her. Within moments, Zathora and Harley had all but disappeared into the thick forest. Behind them, Zathora could hear men coughing and shouting at each other through the dust. Zathora glanced behind her to see Sir Drax standing at the edge of the forest, smiling. Zathora was surprised Sir Drax wasn't chasing after them when he seemed so desperate to have her.

"That's right, run, run away little girl. I know you'll be back." Sir Drax shouted into the forest. "You cannot stay away forever. When you return I will be here, waiting for you,"

Despite the significant distance between them Zathora heard every word Sir Drax shouted at her. The fact that every word out of his mouth was true only increased Zathora's anger. Zathora knew without her to keep Sir Drax on a leash that her people would suffer greatly, he'd made that pretty clear multiple times. The thought of her people suffering her Sir Drax because of her infuriated Zathora to the point where she wanted to turn back and fight. But, Zathora kept running deeper into the woods, despite the heartache it brought her, fighting back at that time would be futile and resulting in her death and most likely many of her subjects. What kept Zathora going was the thought that one day she's return and save her people, no matter what the cost.

"Where are we going to go my Lady?" Harley asked, breaking Zathora's train of thought.

If Zathora was being honest with herself, she didn't know where they were going. Zathora had always known, since she allowed Sir Drax into her land, that something like that would happen, but she had dismissed the thought so much that she never planned it out. She's was mentally kicking herself for not planning for being chased out her own land for her people would suffer for it.

"I don't know Harley, but for now, as far away as possible. But it doesn't matter, for Sir Drax is right, I will return to save my people."

To be continued.

* * *

Marcus' date/courtship with Maria went terrible and Tess felt bad about it. Marcus had a question of faith in the King but that didn't last long. Meanwhile Zathora has been forced away from her land, where will she go and who will she turn to for help?

Please leave a review. I honestly want to know what you think of the story and how I can improve it.

Hope that you are enjoying the story so far. The next chapter will be uploaded as soon as possible.

This is John Storm signing off. Star Frosty ya'll.


	8. Wilderness Mentoring

Here we go, the next chapter of The Knights of Arrethtrae: Sir Marcus the Dragonheart. Finally got my inspiration to write this story out, at least it feels like I do.

Had trouble writing out the beginning of this chapter, I had no idea how to start it. Took me forever to figure out the scene for Marcus and Ruth. I had the idea in my head how Zathora's scene would go way before I started this chapter. I needed at least one scene with Marcus and Ruth for this chapter.

This is the last separate scene with Zathora, after this chapter it'll be part of the main story.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 7: Wilderness Mentoring

"This wood should keep the fire going for the rest of the night." Marcus said as he walked into the clearing carrying a large load of firewood.

Ruth grumbled to herself as she dropped her heavy load of wood beside Marcus'. After being in the woods for three days, Ruth was ready to head home. Though she enjoyed the personal time, training, and talks with Marcus, she was tired of sleeping on a pile of dirt. Ruth was ready to head home, to be around people.

"I hope you're right, at least it's enough to get us through the night and breakfast, till we head home tomorrow."

"Believe me, Ruth, that's more than enough. But, why are you looking forward to head home? Aren't you enjoying yourself?"

"I am, I've learned a lot in our time out here. I can also see why you wanted to leave Chessington, after you night with Maria." Ruth replied, joking at Marcus, getting a laugh from him.

"You're probably right, getting far away from her for a bit was probably a smart idea."

"Certainly, too bad she's probably spreading nasty rumors about you. I wouldn't worry about too many people believing them, they respect you."

"Good, that's the last thing I need."

"Wouldn't be easy for me either, being your cousin and squire." Ruth joked, then looked down at the fire for a moment before looking back at Marcus seriously. "So, Marcus, I know you took me out here for more reasons than just for physical training. I have a feeling it's to discuss the King with me. You've talked about the King nonstop through the entire trip."

Marcus smiled to himself. "Spot on as usual Ruth. You've got quite an instinct. It'll serve you greatly in the future."

"If you say so, but, why speak so much of the King? I know you owe the King everything, after everything He did for you, but why speak so much of Him now when we're training?"

"Because, that's why I took you out here. You see Ruth, being a Knight, especially one in service to the King, involves so much more than being good with a sword. I want you to learn and understand the King as well as be a talented warrior."

"I'm trying, but the King is just so . . . complicated."

"That is true, but it shouldn't stop us from serving Him." Marcus replied, laughing for a moment before getting serious. "You know what I think of the King, but, we're not here to solidify what I think. Tell me Ruth, what do you think of the King?"

Ruth looked down at the fire, unsure how to answer. She's listened intently to all of Leinad's lectures of the King, but never thought too much on what he said. Being questioned on what she thought for the first time made her really think. Ruth wanted to give Marcus the best answer she could.

"Well, I have never met the King in person, so that makes it difficult to say how I feel about him. However, I've seen the King through you, Leinad, and Tess. You three carry yourselves and act in a way that draws people to you, inspiring courage and honor. You have a sense of purpose and confidence that not many have, something I'd love to possess." Ruth explained, sighing softly. "I've also observed the King's love for His people firsthand. I was there under Lord Fairos slavery when Leinad, under the authority of the King, freed us. I stood by Leinad as he led us through the wilderness to Chessington. The King allowed us to prosper, till the people forsake him for luxury. But, once we came back to the King we've prospered greatly. After everything I've observed, it'd be foolish to say that the King doesn't exist or isn't looking out for us."

Marcus grinned. "Very good observation, Ruth. Do you really believe that the King is worthy of your service?"

"Of course, I do, after everything I've seen the King deserves everything I have and more. I want to serve the King like you do."

"I'm sure you do, but that is a very serious decision."

"I know that, but I want what you have, that sense of purpose. All my life I've never felt like I belong anywhere. Being around you and Leinad, I feel like I belong. I don't know how to describe it, but I want to be a part of the King, to serve him." Ruth said, nervously.

"You made a noble decision to follow the King. Many don't because they find it too hard. But, I know that will not stop you. You're like me, headstrong and determined, you won't quit till the end or you die. You continue your training and I know that you'll make a great knight of the King someday."

"I hope I can, that's my dream, to serve the King faithfully as a Knight." Ruth said, smiling big at Marcus. "I got to ask, can you Knight me, or can only the King do that?"

Marcus smiled slightly. "As a Knight of the King, I have the authority to Knight people, but only those whose heart truly belongs to the King. Unfortunately, so few possess a heart that longs for the King, it's rare and requires a lot."

"What does it require? I'll hold nothing back I promise."

"You sure about that? Many have turned away when they realize how much they have to sacrifice."

"Yes, Marcus, I'm willing to give everything I have, which isn't much, to serve the King as you do." Ruth exclaimed. "I'll even give my life if necessary to serve Him."

"Well, that's good to know as that's what service to the King requires."

Ruth's jaw dropped, getting a smirk from Marcus. "That, that's not what I expected."

"Hm, you'd be surprised how often I get that response when I tell people how much it requires. But, you have to look at it from a different perspective. If you're not willing to give everything to serve the King, who gave it all to you, then how can you serve him faithfully? Serving the King fully takes everything you have, sometimes even your life. That's why so many, particularly the wealth and elites, have a hard time accepting the King. Look at me, all I have is my weapons, armor, and the cloths on my back, and I wouldn't trade serving the King for anything."

"I can see why, giving everything, they possess to serve the King would upset many people. However, looking at you, I can see it's worth it."

"It is, the King has given me so much that I could never hope to pay Him back. But, pledging loyalty to the King is not something you should take lightly. It is a dangerous choice; the Dark Knight and his Shadow Warriors want to destroy us and the King. I hope you understand why this choice is the most important, and hardest, one you'll ever make."

Ruth nodded. "I think I do, serving the King like you do sounds incredibly hard."

"It is, but there are other ways to serve the King than what I do. The King could call you to be like Leinad. It's impossible to know for sure till the King reveals it to us. So, I have to ask, will you serve the King with all your heart?"

Ruth looked down at the ground, thinking for a moment. "Yes, I can think of nothing more honorable than serving the King. I want to be knighted, I'm ready."

"You're close, but unfortunately, no, you're not ready to be knighted just yet."

"What, after all that explanation you say I'm not ready?" Ruth screamed at Marcus.

"Hold on, Ruth, I said you're close. The main problem is that you're too young and untrained for me to Knight you. You got the spirit in you to be a knight of the King, no question about it. Your heart is in the right place, but your mind and body need more training. In time you'll be ready."

"Ok, if you say so Marcus."

Marcus was about to reply back when he heard a twig snap in the distance. He quickly stood up as if his rear was on fire, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword. Ruth looked around, spotting movement in the forest, but was unable to tell what it was.

"What is it, Marcus, some kind of animal?"

"No, it's people, three of them I think, none with good intentions."

"How can you tell?"

"They wouldn't be hiding from us if they had good intentions." Marcus answered.

A moment later, three men walked out of the woods, all heavily armed. Two were carrying axes and another a sword, all wore leather armor. They were covered in dirt and blood, showing they'd been through a lot. All of them eyed Ruth and Marcus with anger, particularly Marcus. What scared Ruth was the dragon mark in the chests of their armor, the same as the Dragon Bandits that attacked Chessington.

 _They must have escaped the battle somehow, that would explain what they're doing here._ Ruth thought, reaching for her axe.

One of the bandits stepped forward, smiling devilishly at Marcus and Ruth. "Well, well, look at what we found here, two sheep fresh for the slaughter."

"And the man that brought destruction to our once great army. Killing him will be good revenge."

Ruth backed up in fear as the bandits approached them. She looked at Marcus who stood his ground, drawing his sword. Marcus didn't appear to be afraid at all, despite being outnumbered. If anything, Marcus appeared to be strangely calm, ready for the inevitable fight.

"Kill the big one, he looks like too much trouble to be a slave. Do not harm the girl, we can get good money for her." The lead bandit ordered.

The bandits slowly approached Marcus and Ruth, not wanting to rush into Marcus. They remember the battle vividly, particularly Marcus fighting like a beast. None of them wanted to rush into fighting him.

"Ruth, stay back, let me handle this." Marcus ordered, seeing Ruth take a defensive stance beside him.

Ruth nodded as she stepped back, she knew he'd be able to handle the bandits on his own. But, Ruth felt bad being left out with Marcus fighting her battles. She hated the thought of having to be protected, particularity someone else putting themselves in harm's way to protect her. Ruth had half a mind to rush in and join the fight, but she reluctantly stayed back, obeying Marcus' order.

The three bandits spread apart around Marcus, forming a semi-circle around him. Marcus didn't appear to be afraid, Ruth knew he was worried, three on one was a hard fight for even experienced swordsmen. The memory of Leinad fighting three of Moradiah's knights flashed through her mind. Though the bandits mostly like weren't as skilled as the Knights Leinad faced, Leinad wining that fight, they were still skilled warriors. At least, Marcus stood at high chance against the bandits.

Marcus suddenly rushed at the nearest bandit on his right, bringing his sword down before he realized what happened. Ruth gasped as Marcus attacked in a blinding fury, she expected him to defend himself, not attack. The bandit barely brought his shield up in time to block Marcus' attack, but the blow was so powerful that it knocked his shield down, exposing his chest. In a flash, Marcus recovered and thrusted his sword into the bandit's chest. The two other bandits were frozen in fear, after watching Marcus attack with such ferocity.

Ruth remained perfectly still, shocked by what she just saw. She figured that Marcus would've defended and countered, instead he attacked out of nowhere. Though Marcus' actions caught the bandit off guard, and improved his odds significantly, Ruth thought it was a bit too much.

Before the two bandits could recover Marcus spun around and lunged at the closest one. He brought his sword down full strength onto the bandit's shield, knocking him back. The other bandit took advantage of Marcus' position and swung his axe at Marcus' head. Marcus stepped towards the bandit and grabbed the axe by the handle, easily stopping it. Marcus launched a powerful kick into the bandit's stomach, sending him flying backwards. The other bandit, seeing Marcus exposed, thrusted at his chest. Marcus twisted his blade down, easily blocking the thrust, then thrusting his hilt into the bandit's forehead. The bandit staggered back, bleeding and confused from the blow, allowing Marcus to easily finish him off with a powerful cut across his face.

Marcus turned to the last bandit, who had recovered from Marcus' kick, but was holding his axe in fear. "It's not too late. You can still run away and live. If you stay, then you will die."

"You know I cannot run."

Marcus sighed as he took a defensive stance. Ruth could tell that Marcus didn't want to fight, to take a life, but was only doing so because he had no choice. She probably wouldn't have given the bandit a chance to run.

The bandit let out a loud scream and charged at Marcus, raising his axe over his head. Marcus remained calm as he raised his sword, blocking the blow with ease. He stepped aside, rotating his body around the blow, using his blade to push the bandit past him. The bandit found himself unable to control his momentum as he flew past Marcus, fully exposed. In a flash, Marcus thrusted his sword into the bandit's back, the blade penetrating clear through his body. Marcus withdrew the blade quickly and the bandit collapsed dead.

Marcus sighed as he looked around at the bodies before him. "Foolish waste of life in service to a horrible master."

Ruth slowly approached Marcus, unsure how to respond to his actions. She had never seen him kill before, though he did it effortlessly it still appeared to take a toll on him. Ruth knew it was something that Marcus tried to avoid, taking life only as a last resort. She decided her best course of action was to approach Marcus cautiously, give him time to calm down.

Ruth suddenly stopped when Marcus' expression suddenly turned to fear. "RUTH LOOK OUT!"

Before Ruth could say anything, a strong arm reached around her neck from behind and pulled her backwards. Ruth found herself being held against a Bandit with a knife at her throat. She wanted to struggle but the knife at her throat stopped her.

"Well, well, look what I got here, a little girl fresh for the slave fields."

Rage built inside Ruth at what the bandit called her. She wasn't about to become a slave again. Ruth, remembering what Marcus taught her for that situation, grabbed the knife with both hands and pushed forward, away from her neck, and threw her left foot backwards at the same time. Her foot went up between the bandit's legs, hitting him hard in the groin. The bandit squealed like a girl as he let go of Ruth, hunching over to hold his shattered balls. Ruth spun around quickly, twisting the knife out of the bandit's head, and threw a power punch to his forehead. The blow had such force that the bandit nearly went flying onto his back. Ruth grabbed the knife and ran to the near unconscious bandit before he could recover. She jumped on him, on knee landing on his stomach, and shoved his head hard against the ground. The bandit had no way to fight back as Ruth raised the knife over her head for the final blow.

"No Ruth, don't kill him."

Ruth glanced up at Marcus who stood a good distance away from her. The distanced was too much for Marcus to do anything to stop Ruth from killing the bandit.

"Why not, you heard what he said they were going to do to us?" Ruth shouted back at Marcus. "After all the evil this man has done, killing him is the right thing to do. We can't take the chance of letting him get away."

"I know Ruth but killing him when he can't defend himself is wrong, there's no honor in killing an opponent that cannot fight back." Marcus replied, slowly advancing towards Ruth. "Killing him now will just bring you down to his level. Please Ruth, don't do it."

"But, Marcus, think of everyone this bandit and his friends harmed and killed. Don't they deserve justice?"

"What you're talking about is rage, revenge, that is not justice, I taught you better than that. Acting on your anger now will only take you down a dark path, I know from experience. You must hold your blade, true justice will be done Ruth, but only if you spare him."

Ruth looked down at the bandit lying at her feet. He was almost smiling, as if he knew she wouldn't kill him. Just looking at the smirk on his face made Ruth want to drive the knife through his head. The thought of all the people who died because of him burned at Ruth, telling her to end his wretched life. But Marcus' words tugged at her heart. Ruth realized what Marcus said was right, killing him would be an act of anger, there'd be no honor in it. Acting on the rage she felt towards the bandit would only push her down a path away from the King. After everything Marcus had taught her, there was only one honorable choice Ruth could make. Ruth lowered the knife with a sigh, she'd decided to let him live.

The bandit started laughing. "Foolish girl, you are weak, just like your people."

Ruth growled as she raised the knife, making the bandit cower and raise his arm to defend himself. At the last instant, Ruth twisted the knife in her hand and brought the hilt down on the bandit's head. Ruth held back none of her strength as the hilt crashed into the bandit's head, knocking him unconscious.

"You did good Ruth, he'll face justice for his crimes in Chessington." Marcus said, smiling as he approached Ruth.

Ruth sighed, looking down at the unconscious bandit. "I guess so, knowing justice will be done feels good in a way, big I failed to see what good I did."

"Ruth, you showed restraint in a situation where you were justified in killing a man. Many people see mercy and restraint as weakness, it's not. It takes real strength to show restraint in these situations." Marcus replied. "Besides, you're far from ready for your first kill, that is not something you should seek. It changes you in bad ways. Do you understand?"

Ruth nodded reluctantly, the event had shaken her up a little. "Yes, I do, just having trouble accepting it."

"That's okay Ruth, a lot of people have trouble accepting it. But, you're still young, plenty of time for me to teach you."

Ruth laughed to herself and Marcus picked up the bandit effortlessly and carried him like a grain sack over his shoulders. Marcus carried the bandit to his horse and three him over the saddle tying him down, so he didn't get loose.

"Let's finishing packing and head home." Marcus said.

"No objection here, Marcus. I'm ready to get home, settle down for a bath, and a nice meal."

"That makes two of us. I hope you learned a lot on this trip."

"I did, Marcus, I just hope that someday I can be even half as good a Knight as you."

Marcus shook his head, smiling a little. "Don't try to be me Ruth, instead, aim higher."

* * *

Mountain Wilderness 

Zathora and Harley panted heavily as they dragged a fresh deer carcass through the woods. The two-hundred-and-fifty-pound buck was a challenge for them to drag across the thick forest floor; it's hooves and antlers getting caught on every bush. Zathora did most of the pulling, being in better shape while Harley did the best she could to help. As much as they hated dragging the deer back to camp it was something to keep their minds off of recent events.

As they dragged the deer carcass Harley was starting to get worried about Zathora; she's barely said a word since they've been on the run, usually speaking to telling her what to do. Zathora had cried frequently, but softly, over having to leave her people behind. Harley knew that Zathora was sensitive and scared for her people, even though she hadn't said a word about it. She had tried to get Zathora to talk for three days, but with no positive results.

"Harley, I'm sorry to put you through this." Zathora suddenly said out of nowhere, breaking the silence."

"No need to apologize my lady, I'm more than happy to follow you."

"Despite all the hardship we've been through Harley, I'm still surprised you follow me."

"Because you are a great, caring leader. Very few lords care about their subjects the way you do. You led our people to safety ten years ago after your father was killed." Harley explained. "If it wasn't for you the people would've died, instead they prospered. So, of course I'm going to follow you."

"You really do think highly of me don't you, despite my mistakes?"

"Yes, though you did make a mistake with Sir Drax, but you did it for a good reason. You had your peoples' safety at the center of your choice. That's why I respect you and will follow you to death if I have to."

"As much as I appreciate the sentiment Harley, I don't want you throwing your life away like that."

"As long as it's in your service it won't be a waste." Harley replied.

 _What did I do to deserve a friend like Harley?_ Zathora thought, trying to understand how someone could follow her so faithfully.

"What are we going to do now? my Lady?" Harley asked.

Zathora sighed, looking down at the ground. "I wish I knew Harley. All I know for certain is that at some point I'm going back."

"Why my Lady, why go back to certain death?"

"Because I can't leave my people to suffer at the hands of that monster. It scares me to think about what is happening to them right now."

Harley was about to respond when Zathora suddenly froze in her place. Without dropping the carcass, Zathora looked around carefully, confusing Harley who didn't see or hear anything. It wasn't till Zathora's gaze turned towards their campsite that she became suspicious.

"What is it my Lady?"

"Someone is at our campsite."

Zathora carefully dropped the carcass, drew her bow, and notched an arrow. As quietly as possible, Zathora approached their campsite with Harley close behind. As they got closer, Zathora could make out something unusual at their campsite. Sitting by the fire, looking right at Zathora and Harley, was one of the largest man they've ever seen. The man was dressed in a black cloak, wearing leather armor, and carrying a long sword on his side. A quiver of arrows rests on his back and a large war bow laid next to him. Though Zathora could barely see it, on his chest of his armor was a symbol she barely recognized; the mark of the King.

Zathora slightly drew her bow. "Are you friend or foe?"

The man just looked at Zathora and Harley, smiling. "Friend, I am no threat to you."

"How do we know that? What guarantee do we have that you won't attack us?"

The man sighed as he drew his sword and stuck the tip into the ground, leaving himself open to Zathora's arrows. "I hope that's enough to show you I'm not a threat. I've been tracking you two for a long time."

Zathora lowers her bow a little. "Why have you been tracking us?"

"Simple, I am a messenger from the King, He has heard your pleas. He has a message for you that will save your people from Sir Drax."

Zathora stood still, speechless, after hearing the King mentioned. She's heard tales of the King since she was a little girl, her aunt talked endlessly about Him. When she was a little girl, Zathora found the stories hard to believe, dismissing them as myths, till she was older. As a teenager, Zathora, seeing the monstrosities that her father was committing, she found it impossible that a good King would allow such horrors to happen. It wasn't till shortly after her father was killed that she began to take interest again in the stories her aunt told. Zathora couldn't explain it but she felt drawn to what little she knew of the King. She began hearing the stories of Chessington, Sir Leinad, and Sir Marcus fighting for the honor of the King that she wanted to learn more but had no one around to tell her more. Hearing the King mentioned by the stranger reawakened her longing for the King.

"The King . . . the King sent you to find us?" Zathora stutter _e_ d. "He really does care about the people?"

"Of course, the King has a deep love for the people of Arrethtrae. That is why He sent me, to tell you how to save your people."

Zathora almost dropped her bow hearing the words of the stranger. Her natural instincts were to ignore the stranger or shoot at him. But, the more Zathora heard about the King the more she felt compelled to listen. Zathora decided to at least hear him out.

Zathora lowered her bow and slowly approached the messenger. "Alright, what does the King want us to do?"

"The King told me that you are to travel to Chessington."

"Chessington, that's at least a week-long journey. Why would the King ask us to go there?" Zathora shouted.

"Because, that's where you'll find the people who will help you defeat Sir Drax." The stranger answered. "Once there look for Sir Marcus, Sir Leinad, and Lady Tess, they will help you."

Zathora's eyes popped at the mention of Sir Marcus. His tale of the battle with the dragon reached her people not too long ago. Zathora didn't believe the story at the time, but hearing the stranger say his name in a way made her believe it.

"Are you talking about Sir Marcus the Dragonheart?" Harley asked.

"Yes, with their help you will save your people."

"I have heard of Sir Marcus and Sir Leinad, the tales of their deeds are legendary. With them by my side we may stand a chance."

"My Lady, that's only three people against an army. Even with them by our side the odd is not in our favor." Harley said.

"I'm aware of that Harley, three legends against a small army seems like an impossibility. But, it's the best option we have right now. These knights have all fought against impossible odds and won. With the three of them working together with us we may stand a chance." Zathora replied to Harley, then turned to the stranger. "This is a lot to take in, so I have to ask a very important question. How can we trust you?"

The messenger smiled. "Besides the fact that my word comes from the King, you really can't. You're not required to do anything I've told you. You can choose to follow the word of the King or not. I'd highly recommend you follow His message."

"That's a lot to take in, but I suppose you're right. As much as I hate to trust someone I've just met, and a message from a King I hardly know, I'd be a fool to deny it. But, traveling to Chessington is no easy task. The distance alone is a tough journey, add in bandits, wild animals, and who knows what else, the trip to Chessington will be exceedingly dangerous."

Zathora looked behind her at Harley, who was standing there with a confused look on her face. She expected Harley to be confused and scared during the conversation. As far as Zathora knew, Harley knew even less about the King than she did, if at all. Zathora expected Harley to think that she's out of her mind for even listening to the messenger, let alone agree with him. Thankfully, Harley was remaining quiet for most of the conversation, though Zathora knew she'd voice her opinion later.

"Don't worry, I'll be protecting you from a distance till you make it to Chessington." The messenger said.

"Thank you, I guess." Zathora replied. "Can we at least know your name?"

"Thorn, messenger to the one true King."

"That's a mouthful, but at least we know your name."

"So, I've been told." Thorn responded, standing up. "You are free to do what you want, but know this, your best hope for saving your people lies in Chessington."

Zathora felt someone pulling on her sleeve, she turned around to see Harley behind her. Harley was motioning for her to walk a distance away. Zathora quickly realized Harley wanted to talk in private.

"Hang on a second Thorn." Zathora said.

Zathora and Harley walked to the edge of their campsite. "Don't you think this is weird my Lady? It could be a trap."

"I thought the same thing to till I saw the mark of the King on his shirt. I've heard stories about that mark, it's not something just anyone could wear, especially someone with evil intentions. I know it's hard to comprehend but I believe we can trust him."

"If you say so my Lady, but I'd still be cautious about this."

"Of course, that would be foolish of me." Zathora replied, then turned to face Thorn. "Now, where were . . ."

Zathora stopped mid-sentenced seeing that Thorn was gone. She ran to the spot he has sat at to find nothing, no evidence he'd been there. Looking around, Zathora found no sign of Thorn.

"What in the world?" Harley gasped. "Did that really just happen, my Lady?"

"I think so Harley."

"Ok, do we trust some man we don't know and risk our lives going to Chessington to find those Knights he mentioned? How do we know it's not a trap?"

"I think a good sign of that is the fact we're still breathing and free. If he had been working for Sir Drax, or whoever Sir Drax work for, we would probably be dead or in chains." Zathora answered. "Besides, I've heard stories of this Sir Marcus character, he's a powerful knight that most likely will not hesitate to help us."

"Alright, but Chessington is a long journey, it'll take a week for us to make it. Maybe we should go to the nearest town and find mercenaries there, that would be easier and safer."

Zathora sighed as she looked down at the fire, contemplating what Harley said. Finding mercenaries would certainly be easier and take less time, but Zathora knew the results would most likely not be favorable for her or her people. She would probably end up in a similar situation that she was currently in, especially if they turned on her or failed. Finding Sir Marcus, Leinad, and Tess would certainly take time, and Zathora had trouble trusting the words of a man who appeared out of nowhere. But, something inside Zathora told her to follow the messenger's words, that she will succeed if she went to Chessington to find Sir Marcus. Zathora couldn't explain what the feeling was but it was undeniable.

Zathora sighed, looking up at Harley. "Get some sleep Harley, at sunrise we head for Chessington."

To be continued.

* * *

Zathora and Harley have been contacted by a messenger from the King, telling them to go to Chessington to find Sir Marcus, Leinad, and Tess. How will Zathora react when she sees Marcus, and will he help?"

Please leave a review. I honestly want to know what you think of the story and how I can improve it.

Hope that you are enjoying the story so far. The next chapter will be uploaded as soon as possible.

This is John Storm signing off. Star Frosty ya'll.


	9. Very Unpleasent Meeting

Here we go, the next chapter of The Knights of Arrethtrae: Sir Marcus the Dragonheart. Finally we get to see Zathora and Marcus meet again after so long. Hopefully Zathora doesn't kill Marcus.

At the moment, this is the only FFN story I've had the determination to work on. I'd like to be able to work on others but I've had little success there lately.

I had some trouble with the last section, more specifically the conversation between Marcus and Zathora. That was a hard scene to write out, well, at least to try to make it feel realistic. I'm sorry if it's not.

Recently, I started posting original ideas on here as well, so if y'all want to look at them go right ahead. 

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 8: Very Uncomfortable Meeting

Chessington

Tess smiled as she walked through the streets of Chessington as the sun started to set. There was something about walking the streets at that time of Day Tess enjoyed. Maybe, it's because that's when everyone's heading home and she got to see more of her friends. The sunlight illuminating the shadows of the buildings made it even more beautiful and peaceful.

"Good evening Tess." A citizen waved at Tess.

"Good evening to you too." Tess replied, waving back.

Most of the conversations Tess received were a quick exchange of greetings, people wanting to get home after a long work day. Tess was no exception, after a long day of training stubborn Noble Knights she just wanted to relax. At the moment, Tess' only concern was getting home, cooking dinner, and settling down for a romantic dinner with Leinad.

"Excuse us, miss." A sorrowful voice called from behind Tess.

Tess turned around to see two women wearing dark cloaks standing behind her. Though the women were armed Tess didn't feel like they were a threat. Both were very beautiful, particularly the white haired woman. They looked very tired and dirty, ther cloaks covered in dirt and torn slightly. Looking at them, Tess could tell immediately that they were both sad and worried about something.

The white - haired woman bowed to Tess. "I'm Zathora, and this is my servant Harley. We're . . . travelers from a distant land far north of here. We came to your fine city to find a couple people."

"Well then, let me be the first to welcome you to Chessington. I hope you enjoy your stay here."

"I wish we could but we have important business here that needs to be taken care of quickly. We don't have time to take in the sights of your city."

"That's too bad, you at least need to check in at the inn and get some sleep. You two look extremely tired, some rest would be helpful." Tess recommended.

"I wish we could ma'am but my Lady needs to accomplish her task here as soon as possible." Harley said, patting Zathora on the shoulder.

"I wouldn't recommend that right now." Tess said gently. "You both look very tired, and in need of a bath. Please get some rest first."

Zathora sighed. "Ok, I could use a good sleep anyway. It's been two weeks since I've been able to sleep, even longer since the last time I've slept good at all."

"Hopefully you can get at least a few hours at the inn. The beds are very comfortable and no one will bother you there."

"Thank you, I can find who I'm looking for tomorrow."

As Zathora and Harley turned to walk away, Tess' curiosity was plaguing her. Though she just met them, Tess felt a drive to help them; at least to know who they were looking for. Zathora and Harley looked like they really could really use the help.

"Before you go, Harley called you Lady, which usually is a term for an important person. I got to ask, are you a landlord or higher?" Tess shouted, to get their attention.

Zathora reluctantly nodded. "Yes, I WAS, but, due to recent events and mistakes I made, I'm not right now."

"I'm sorry to hear that, at least you're still alive. Hopefully you can improve or recover what's yours."

"Well, it's a long story, but, yes, that's pretty much why I'm here. Now that I think about it, I could use your help in finding the people I'm looking for."

Tess shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, I'll help you if I can. Who are you looking for?"

Zathora looked at Harley for a moment before answering. "We're looking for three Knights, great warriors from what we've heard. You've probably heard of them around here."

"Most likely I do, everyone around here knows me and I try to know everyone. I know all of the Knights around so I should be able to easily find who you're looking for. If I can't find them then I can point you to someone who can."

As Tess spoke to Harley and Zathora, she couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. Tess felt like she was giving away too much information to two distant travelers she had just met. But, Tess could tell by looking at Zathora that she was indeed sincerely in every word. Seeing the woman so broken hearted tugged at Tess' heart, making her want to help.

"Thank you miss, I really appreciate your help." Zathora said, "Do you know where I can find, Sir Leinad, Lady Tess, and Sir Marcus the Dragonheart?"

It took everything Tess had not to laugh or gasp. Though she had a feeling Zathora would say those names actually hearing her say them was different. But, Tess felt like she needed more information from Zathora before she gave her clear answers.

Tess nodded, "I know them very well, and know exactly where they are. But before I tell you I need to ask, why did you come to Chessington to find them?"

Zathora and Harley looked at each other cautiously. After a moment, they leaned in close and started whispering to each other. Tess could tell they were debating whether or not to tell her the reason why they've come to Chessington. After a brief, hushed, conversation they turned back to Tess.

"We were told to come here by a Messenger sent by the King to find the three Knights I told you about earlier."

Tess gasped. "The King sent you here?"

"Yes, we got a visit from a messenger that I believe was sent by the King two weeks ago. He told us to come here so we help my people."

"Huh, what do you mean by help your people?"

Zathora sighed, "It's a long story, are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Yes, it'll help me best determine how to help you."

Zathora, despite her hesitation, told Tess everything that happened to her people in recent years. Tess listened closely as Zathora told her about trying to rebuild her destroyed home, but having difficulties with bandits, resulting in her turning to Sir Drax for help. Zathora spoke of how Sir Drax at first assisted her people but as time went on he become more aggressive, to the point where she was starting to worry. When Zathora got to the part where Sir Drax gave her his ultimatum: marry him or her people will suffer, she almost cried. A tear ran down her cheek almost unnoticed when she finished with having to leave her people and the messenger from the King visiting her.

Tess laid a comforting hand on Zathora's shoulder. "I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you. I'll do what I can to help."

"Thank you, at this point I'd appreciate any help I can get."

"Of course, that's why I'm here. I got a place you can stay till you're ready."

Zathora smiled slightly, "As much I appreciate it, I don't want to be a bother. At the moment I just want to find Sir Leinad, Sir Marcus, and Lady Tess."

Tess tried her best not to smile for doing so would've made the situation much worse. If only Zathora knew who she was talking to.

"I think I can help with that."

"You can, you know where Sir Marcus, Sir Leinad, and Lady Tess are?"

"Of course, you're talking to Lady Tess right now."

Tess fought back a laugh at the sight of Zathora and Harley's jaws dropping. She had a feeling that would've been their response. Tess would've broken out laughing but after what. Zathora told her about her people being in danger she decided it was best not to laugh.

"You're Lady Tess?" Zathora stuttered.

"Yes, you're not the first to be surprised. I can lead you to Leinad and Marcus as well."

"Really, you can do that?"

"Of course, Leinad is my husband after all." Teas replied, smiling.

"Really? That's incredible, and here I was thinking we'd have trouble finding you three." Harley exclaimed loudly, drawing attention from people nearby.

"Hm, I can see that Leinad is a lucky man." Zathora complimented Tess. "But, What about Sir Marcus, where's he?"

"Marcus is a friend of mine, he's probably working with Leinad and his cousin. I'll take you to them right now if you want."

"That'd be great, the sooner we're headed back the better."

"Then follow me, I'll take you straight to them."

Tess turned around and began leading Zathora and Harley, who were nearly jumping with joy, to Marcus' training arena. It wasn't till they were halfway to their destination that Tess realized how drastically she might have doomed Marcus. Tess remembered the story Marcus told her about his enslavement under Lord Fairos; she quickly realized that Zathora was his daughter. Zathora was bound to freak out once she realized it. Hopefully Zathora didn't recognize Marcus on sight, though Tess doubted it. Marcus would no doubt remember Zathora, he talked about her frequently. Tess had to fight back against shivering at the thought of what may happen once Zathora realized that Sir Marcus was the same Mark that killed her father. Tess wanted to stop but realized she couldn't, not after everything she said.

 _I got a feeling things are about to get very interesting for Marcus._

X

"You're footwork has improved, Ruth." Marcus as he sheathed his sword, panting heavily. "You've made progress in that area."

Ruth's only response was a nod as she sat down on the bench gasping fot breath. Every bone in her body ached as sweat soaked her clothes. It took everything Ruth had just to nod to Marcus. Training with Marcus had become more intense since they arrived from their trip in the woods. Ruth was starting to regret asking Marcus to step up the training, for he had more than delivered on his word. All Ruth had done the past two weeks was train and meditate on the teachings of the King. Every night she went to be bed exhausted, it seemed like that night would be no different.

 _If this is what Marcus and Leinad went through with the King then I can see why they're so strong._

Ruth grabbed the water jug and drank half of it as Leinad walked into their training arena. She didn't even notice he was there till he was standing near her. Ruth just nodded at him as she continued to drink.

Leinad looked at Marcus, who was leaning on the fence post breathing heavily. "Marcus, don't you think you're pushing Ruth too hard? You need time to relax at some point or both of your bodies will give out on you."

Marcus nodded. "I know, I was planning on taking a break from training for the next couple of days. Ruth needs it and I'll admit so do I. It's been a little difficult for me being stuck in one place for so long. Feels like I'm going lazy."

"That's understandable, you're used to wondering for the King and fighting for others. Sticking around in one places feel unusual to you. You feel like all this inactivity is making your body weaker, probably is in a way, but at least you got Ruth to spare and train with. That is why you're training her so much right?"

Marcus nodded. "One of the reasons, I'll admit I'm probably pushing her too hard. That's why we'll be resting for the next couple days."

Ruth slowly stood her, some of her strength had returned to her. "But I want to keep training. I can feel myself getting stronger, I don't want that to stop."

"Ruth, rest is very important to training. The strength you receive will be no good if you push yourself too hard and get hurt." Leinad said, calmly, "I've seen it happen before, so, take my word on it. Best thing to do right now is rest."

As much as Ruth wanted to argue she was too tired. She wanted to get stronger but saw the logic in Leinad's words as well. Resting for a while seemed like a good idea, even though it's not what she wanted to do.

"Alright, I could use a nap anyway."

"You and me both." Marcus added with a smirk. "I'll be right back, got some jerky we should eat to keep our strength us."

Ruth nodded at Marcus as he disappeared into their house, leaving her alone with Leinad. After a few moments, Ruth noticed Tess approaching, with two women she didn't recognize following close behind. Ruth stood up and nodded at Tess as she and the two women entered the arena.

"Good afternoon Tess." Ruth shouted.

"Good afternoon to you too Ruth. I can see that Marcus has been pushing you pretty hard lately."

"You have no idea." Ruth replied as she sat down.

One of the women with white hair walkknb with Tess stepped forwards towards Ruth. "You've been training under Sir Marcus?"

Ruth looked at the woman a little confused. She didn't expect some unknown woman to address her in such a straightforward manner.

"Uh, yes, definitely harder than I thought it was going to be. Why are you asking?"

"Oh, I'm sorry for being so abrupt." The woman answered, stepping back and bowing to everyone. "My name is Zathora, this is my servant Harley, and I have come a long ways to find Sir Marcus, Sir Leinad, and Lady Tess."

Ruth bowed her head in respect. "It's an honor Lady Zathora, I'm Ruth, Marcus'cousin."

Zathora gasped softly. "You're Marcus' cousin?"

"Yes, and his squire, he's been training me for a while. So have Leinad and Tess, though Marcus has been doing most of the work."

Zathora looked back and forth between Leinad and Ruth. "So, you're Sir Leinad?"

Leinad nodded. "Yes, I am. I hate to be straightforward but why are you here looking for me, my wife, and Marcus?"

"It's a long story, but the main reason is I need your help, and a messenger from the King told me to come here."

Ruth looked around from person to person confused and shocked. She never expected a response like that. Tess didn't look surprised but Leinad did.

Leinad stepped forward. "If a messenger from the King then we'll do what we can to help you. But, we'll need more information."

"Of course, I'd really appreciate your help. But, I'd like for Sir Marcus to be here first. Where is he?"

"He's inside the house getting cleaned up. He should be out soon." Ruth answered.

 _Zathora, why does that name sound so familiar?_ Ruth thought as she stood up.

At that moment, Marcus stepped out of the house, yawning loudly as he approached them. He had cleaned up a little but had walked out of the house wearing just his pants and boots, his scars revealed to everyone. It wasn't till Marcus was standing beside Ruth that he spotted Zathora and Harley. As soon as Marcus looked his Zathora he froze, stunned as if he had seen a ghost.

"Z-Zathora, is that you?" Marcus stuttered.

Zathora jumped back, appearing to recognize Marcus, drew her sword, and pointed it at Marcus. "YOU, what are you doing here? I, I thought you died."

Ruth, Leinad, and Tess rushed forward, only to stop when Marcus raised his hand. "I did, more than once that day and the five years after that. A lot has happened to me in the last ten years. Never thought I'd see you again. I'll admit I'm glad that you're still alive and appear to be doing good."

Zathora tightened her grip on the sword and thrusted the tip at Marcis, stopping the tip inches from his chest. "Really, you're being that calm about all of this. I could've gone the rest of my life without seeing you again."

"After everything Mark did I don't blame you at all. You deserve your revenge and I won't stop you."

Ruth scratched the back of her head as she watched the spectacle before her. It wasn't till Zathora spoke, after thrusting her sword at Marcus, that Ruth realized who she was. Marcus explained to Ruth his story long ago, including his enslavement under Lord Fairos. Ruth understood why Zathora was acting that way towards Marcus, he did kill her father and cause the riot that destroyed her father's reign. Ruth wanted to intervene, to stop Zathora from killing Marcus, but every time she moved Marcus would signal for her to stop, which was frustrating. Just watching was the last thing Ruth wanted to do but it's what Marcus was telling her to do, which frustrated her. Seeing Marcus in potential danger worried her, watching him act so calmly about it certainly wasn't helping.

"I find it hard to believe that you're going to just stand there and let me take my revenge." Zathora growled, lifting her sword at Marcus' chest. "There's no way you're Sir Marcus."

Marcus sighed. "Mark did a lot of bad things in his life. I agree with you, a man like Mark shouldn't be allowed to live, especially after what he did to you."

Zathora looked at Marcus confused. "Why do you keep referring to yourself as Mark? You are Mark?"

"Five years ago you wouldve been right, but a lot has changed since then. Mark is dead, he died five years ago at the hands of the Dark Knight. I am Sir Marcus, Knight of the King."

Ruth looked at Zathora and didn't know if she should laugh or not. Zathora was dumbfounded to say the least. She looked so confused by what Marcus said that she appeared to be having a headache, even Ruth was a little confused.

"Ok, I'm starting to think you're a mad man." Zathora said.

Ruth giggled. "That's kind of true."

Tess glarred at Ruth. "You're not helping the situation. Just be quiet and let Marcus talk."

Ruth rolled her eyes as she sat down on the bench, crossing her arms angrily. She wanted desperately to help Marcus, just standing back was driving her crazy. But, Marcus seemed to have the situation under control, a little.

Zathora looked Marcus over, keeping her sword pointed at him. "Let's say I believe you, which I don't, I got to ask, what happened to you?"

"A lot of things I'm not proud of. After the riot I feel even further, that's what happens when you have no one to guide you and no purpose. I wondered around for five years, till I was approached by the Dark Knight himself. He offered a very enticing reward for pledging my loyalty to him. I refused and it almost cost me my life, it would've if it wasn't for the King."

"Wait, you're saying that both the Dark Knight and the King had interests in you? I can see the Dark Knight wanting you but not the King."

"Of course, I realized at the start that the Dark Knight just wanted my skill and to use me for his evil plan. I was only an interest to him as long as I was useful, likely to be discarded the moment he decided I was no longer valuable to him." Marcus answered with a sigh. "However, you're wrong about the King, for He has an interest in everyone, even lowlife scum like Mark. The King cares about everyone, and I mean EVERYONE. It was the King that saw my potential and saved me from the Dark Knight, and more importantly, myself. It's only because of the King that I was able to change, for only He has the power to change people so drastically. The King gave me a purpose and life that no one else could, that debt I can never reply. That's why the man you're pointing your sword at right now is not the same person who killed your father. For through the King I have found redemption and purpose.

Ruth couldn't help but smirk that Marcus' last line, she found it to be a bit corny. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice. At least Marcus' words seemed to have an impact on Zathora. Though Zathora still looked very much confused it appeared she was starting to realize that Marcus had indeed changed since she last saw him ten years ago. Ruth just hoped it was enough to get Zathora to not kill him.

"You got to spend time with the King? I find it hard to believe that the King would spend time with a man like you." Zathora said with a small laugh.

Marcus sighed. "I said the samething when the King saved me. I wouldn't have saved me either, but the King saw a potential in me that I didn't even know existed. The King saved me in more ways than one, and I owe him everything for that. That is why I'm standing before you today as Marcus, not as the monster you knew as Mark."

"Huh, you definitely seem like a different person. The Mark I knew ten years ago would not be speaking like you do. He certainly wasn't as wise and calm as you are. There's certainly something particularly different about you, as if you truly are a different person. Such a drastic change is not possible without great help. So maybe you did spent time with someone, maybe even the King as you said we did." Zathora replied, lowering her sword till the tip was almost touching the ground. "But, after everything you did, I dont think I can trust you. You caused such death and destruction that trusting you seems like a fools choice to me."

"I had a feeling you'd say something like that. What happened ten years ago still haunts me. I have nightmares nearly every night because of what your father did to me. But, that is not what has disturbed me all these years."

"Oh, and what is that?"

Marcus nervously looked down at the ground for a moment. "Mark did to so much to you, it's unforgivable. I know it doesn't mean anything but I've wanted to say something to you for ten years." Marcus took a deep breath as he took a small step towards a suspicious Zathora. "Zathora, I'm sorry for everything. You didn't deserve what happened and I wish I could undo it all. You don't have to forgive me, I just want you to know I'm sorry for everything that happened. If you want to kill me or not go ahead, I'll leave the choice up to you."

Zathora looked at Marcus confused. "Really, you're not going to fight back if I decide to kill you?"

Marcus shook his head. "No, doesn't matter to me which you choose. I've lived to serve the King, fought to bring honor and glory to His name. I've also did things before I served the King that deserve death. If you want to drive your sword into my chest for what I did then I will not stop you. You deserve your justice."

Ruth froze as she watched the spectacle before her. Never in a million years did she ever think Marcus would ever open himself up to an attack in such a way. At first Ruth thought that Marcus was looking for an opening, trying to confuse Zathora to catch her off guard. But then she realized that Marcus was serious, he really was opening himself up to a deathblow from Zathora. Ruth wanted desperately to intervene but looking at Zathora as she contemplated her next action stopped her. Maybe Zathora would make a wise decision, despite how she felt about Marcus.

After nearly a minute Zathora hung her head as lowered her sword. "No, as much as I want to kill you I won't, at least not yet. This doesn't mean I forgive you, I don't think I will ever able to. Besides, killing you when I need your help would be a very foolish choice."

Ruth let out a sigh, happy that she'd get to continue to train under Marcus, instead of burying him. For a moment Ruth thought that Marcus had lost his mind, still thought he was crazy for letting Zathora decide whether or not to kill. The whole situation seemed a bit strange to Ruth, especially Marcus' actions, he would never threw his life away so easily.

"I'm glad you choice to spare me. Hopefully in time we can come to an understanding. I know that's a stretch but it would make things easier for us." Marcus said. "I have to ask, why are you here? Why are you looking for me, Tess, and Leinad."

"I'm curious about that too." Leinad added. "I know we just met but you said you needed our help."

Zathora looked down at the ground as she sheathed her sword. "Because, I need Sir Marcus' help to save my people. If I had known you were Sir Marcus I don't think would have looked for you. I definitely don't trust you, but I don't really have much of a choice."

"I don't blame you at all, you have no reason to trust me. But, I want to help you, consider it my way of paying you back for what I did to you."

"But, you don't even know why I need your help."

"I know, but if you give me the chance I'd like to earn your forgiveness and tryst. I know that's asking a lot, maybe impossible, but I believe I can at least help you save your people." Marcus replied.

"And why would you want to do that? I mean, why help people you don't know."

"Because that's what the King, to fight the forces of the Dark Knight and to help people any way I can. By the look on your face, I can tell that you and your people really do need help. I'd be more than happy to give my help if you'll allow it."

Ruth watched as Zathora pondered accepting Marcus' help. Judging by Zathora's expression she seemed torn on the issue. To Ruth it seemed like Zathora trusting Marcus would be a long shot, especially since she just spent a long time pointing her sword at him. However, it was clear to Ruth that Zathora was desperate for help to save her people, even if that meant turning to the man who justifiably killed her father. To Ruth, it seemed like whichever side of the argument Zathora cared more about, her fear of Marcus or concern for her people, would win.

"Alright, as much as I hate the thought of trusting you I really don't see what choice I have." Zathora said after a minute. "But let me make this clear, if I so much as suspect you're going to harm or betray us I will kill you."

"Of course, you got nothing to worry about. Now, what is the problem? I can't help if I don't know what's going on."

Zathora glared at Marcus for a moment before answering. "It's a long story, I don't even know if we can succeed."

Tess walked up in front of Zathora and Harley. "Why don't you tell us the whole story inside? You can explain everything over supper."

Zathora and Harley both smiled at Tess. "That would be nice, we haven't eaten well in nearly two weeks."

"Then I'll be sure to make a big meal for us." Tess said as she led Zathora and Harley inside the house.

As Ruth got up and followed Leinad and Marcus into the house she noticed Zathora never took her eyes off of Marcus. Ruth didn't blame Zathora but found it a bit too much. It was clear that Zathora didn't trust Marcus, killing her father all those years ago seemed to be getting in the way, though Ruth believed that her father deserved it. Ruth hoped that in time Zathora would at least begin to trust Marcus to the point where she didn't draw her sword, but she knew that would take a long time to happen, if ever. Ruth quickly pushed the thought out of her mind as food quickly took its place.

 _That's surprising, I was not expecting Zathora to accept Marcus help. At least she's not going to kill him, not yet._

To be continued.

* * *

Zathora and Harley have made it to Chessington only to find out that Sir Marcus is the same man that killed her father. After a tense discussion, Zathora agreed not to kill Marcus. Can she will herself to not only work with him but trust him as well?

Please leave a review. I honestly want to know what you think of the story and how I can improve it.

Hope that you are enjoying the story so far. The next chapter will be uploaded as soon as possible.

This is John Storm signing off. Star Frosty ya'll.


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